General Information
Type of contract
Traineeship
Who can apply?
EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme
Grant
The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)
Role specialisation
Economics and Monetary Policy
Working time
Full time
Place of work
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Closing date
10.12.2020
Your team
You will be part of the Directorate General Monetary Policy. Our Directorate General analyses the ECB’s monetary policy strategy and stance, as well as monitoring monetary and financial developments. It also contributes to decision-making and external communications (e.g. through economic research papers, speeches and official ECB publications). You will be offered a traineeship in the Capital Markets and Financial Structure Division, the Monetary Policy Strategy Division or the Monetary Analysis Division.
The Capital Markets and Financial Structure Division is responsible for monitoring, analysing and studying the non-bank transmission of monetary policy, as well as cyclical and structural developments in financial markets that have an impact on the euro area from a monetary policy perspective.
The Monetary Policy Strategy Division analyses and assesses the ECB’s monetary policy stance, as well as longer-term strategic issues, and contributes to decisions on ECB interest rates and non- standard monetary policy measures. It also develops models and tools with the aim of analysing euro area money markets and the impact that standard and non-standard monetary policy measures have on financial conditions and the wider economy.
The Monetary Analysis Division monitors and analyses developments in money and credit, as well as looking at bank funding and lending conditions in the euro area from both a microeconomic and a macroeconomic perspective. It also develops quantitative and survey-based tools with a view to assessing the transmission of monetary policy – particularly the bank lending channel of monetary policy – and conducts studies looking at bank lending-related aspects of monetary policy.
The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply, irrespective of your gender, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or other characteristics.
Your role
As a trainee you will:
- work closely with your Division’s economists and research analysts, contributing to the daily tasks of the Division as well as to longer-term analytical projects;
- collaborate with economists on enhancing analytical and econometric tools;
- contribute to empirical analyses and analytical projects;
- work extensively with datasets, including macroeconomic and microeconomic data, financial and intraday data, as well as maintaining, updating and further developing the data infrastructure;
- maintain and further develop the existing quantitative tools and modelling infrastructure;
- contribute to the updating of charts and tables for regular internal and external reports and presentations in liaison with other business areas within the ECB.
This position offers you excellent opportunities to enhance your quantitative skills, carry out analytical tasks and work with experienced central bank economists at the heart of the monetary policy decision-making process. It will also allow you to gain a unique insight into the analysis and policymaking that take place in a central bank. You will be expected to work in a largely autonomous manner under the supervision of a mentor. You will have access to the ECB’s library, key econometric software packages and a wealth of invaluable information that will put you in a position to succeed. You will be part of a dynamic and multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.
Qualifications, experience and skills
Essential:
- a bachelor’s degree or higher in economics, finance, econometrics, mathematics, statistics, data science, social sciences or a related field (click here for details on degree equivalences);
- knowledge of statistical and econometric software, such as EViews, R, MATLAB, Stata or Python;
- experience with one or more of the following types of economic data: macroeconomic data, financial market data, firm-level data, accounting/supervisory bank data, other micro data, or large datasets (“big data”);
- an advanced knowledge of MS Office, in particular Excel and PowerPoint;
- a sound understanding of the economic issues covered by at least one of the Divisions listed above;
- an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Desired:
- a master’s degree or higher in economics, finance, econometrics, mathematics, statistics, data science or a related field, or being close to completing such studies in the course of 2021;
- substantial experience with econometric software packages, such as Stata or MATLAB;
- proven experience with Python and/or SQL;
- experience with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for Excel and Tableau;
- research experience;
- experience in using market data services such as Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters/Refinitiv (or Datastream) and Bureau van Dijk BankFocus (Bankscope).
You are curious and eager to learn, and want to further develop your ability to analyse complex information. You are keen to collaborate with others, pursue team goals and learn from other people’s diverse perspectives. You strive to know and anticipate stakeholder needs, and will signal any need for change and propose alternative solutions.
You are motivated to contribute to the ECB’s mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe. You are motivated to be part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the objectives of this position.
Further information
Traineeship of between 3 and 12 months in total.
For further information on how to join us,
read more.
Application and selection process
The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview via WebEx.
