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)
Working time
Full time
Place of work
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Closing date
23.10.2023
Your team
You will be part of the Directorate General Monetary Policy and your traineeship will be in one of the following two divisions.
The Capital Markets/Financial Structure Division analyses financial markets from a monetary policy perspective. The division assesses the non-bank transmission of monetary policy covering the term structure of interest rates, the sovereign bond, corporate bond and stock markets, and the financing structure of non-financial corporations, using quantitative models to analyse the impact of the ECB’s policy measures on financial markets, and contributes to internal reports and external publications.
The Monetary Policy Strategy Division analyses the ECB’s monetary policy stance and longer-term strategic issues. It helps to prepare decisions on monetary policy measures and provides input into monetary policy communications. It also develops models and tools to analyse euro area money markets and the impact of monetary policy instruments on financial conditions and the wider economy. Moreover, it contributes to research on a digital euro.
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 age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.
Your role
As a trainee you will:
- work closely with economists and research analysts on the daily tasks and longer-term projects;
- enhance analytical, numerical and econometric tools;
- work with datasets – including macroeconomic, microeconomic, financial and high-frequency data – and maintain, update and further develop data infrastructure;
- update charts and tables for regular internal and external reports and presentations;
- contribute to quantitative analyses and analytical projects;
- maintain and develop the existing modelling infrastructure.
The position offers you excellent opportunities to enhance your quantitative skills, work on analytical tasks and collaborate with experienced central bank economists. It also provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into analysis and policy preparation within a central bank. You will be part of a 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 another relevant field;
- experience working with any of the following programming languages: MATLAB, Python, R, Stata, VBA Excel or SQL;
- experience with one or more of the following types of data: macroeconomic data, financial market data, firm-level data, transaction-level data, high frequency data, panel data, survey data or other micro data or large datasets;
- a sound understanding of the economic issues relevant to the Capital Markets/Financial Structure and/or Monetary Policy Strategy Divisions;
- a good knowledge of the MS Office package, in particular Excel, PowerPoint and Word;
- 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, social sciences or another relevant field, or studies at this level that you will be close to completing in the course of 2024;
- a solid background in econometrics (in particular, time series and panel econometrics), statistics or data science;
- experience working with relational databases, using SQL and/or other big data analytic tools in Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark or similar big data frameworks;
- experience using visualisation tools such as Tableau or Shiny;
- experience assisting with research;
- experience using market data services such as Bloomberg, Refinitiv (Eikon and/or Datastream), S&P Global iBoxx (formerly IHS Markit iBoxx), Haver Analytics and SNL Financial, and, for bank and firm balance-sheet data, services such as Moody’s Analytics BankFocus (formerly Bankscope) and Orbis Europe.
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 keen to be part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.
Further information
Traineeship of between 6 and 12 months in total. The traineeships will start in 2024.
Application and selection process
The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview.
Further information on
how to apply is available on our website.
If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months from the closing date for applications, from which you might be considered for other traineeship positions within the ECB.
