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
09.08.2023
Your team
You will be part of the Strategic Risk and Analytics Division in the Directorate Supervisory Strategy and Risk. Our Directorate is actively working towards two complementary objectives: (i) the development of ECB Banking Supervision’s medium-term strategy, based on the assessment of the main risks and vulnerabilities of the European banking sector, together with its transposition into supervisors’ strategic planning, and (ii) the promotion of consistent supervisory outcomes by acting as a second line of defence.
As a trainee in our Division, you will be part of a team of approximately 18 staff members responsible for identifying and monitoring the evolution of the main risks facing supervised institutions, with a view to defining the supervisory priorities, drawing on input from a range of internal and external stakeholders. Against this backdrop, the team carries out ad hoc strategic projects, independent analyses and market intelligence activities that drive the risk assessment and future reviews of the supervisory priorities. In addition, the team supports the implementation of a risk tolerance framework that promotes, for example, the effective transposition of the supervisory priorities into supervisors’ planning and fosters risk-based supervision. The Division is also in charge of developing the research agenda for ECB Banking Supervision, and it supports internal initiatives to connect with research. The team actively contributes to banking supervision research projects.
The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) is the system of banking supervision in Europe. It comprises the ECB and the national supervisory authorities of the participating countries.
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
Your tasks as a trainee will be supervised by a colleague from the Division. Depending on the team to which you are assigned, you will be expected to:
- contribute to the team’s ongoing work and new initiatives;
- collaborate closely with other team members to draft presentations and notes, conduct quantitative and qualitative risk analyses, and carry out market research and benchmarking studies;
- contribute to the development of ECB Banking Supervision’s risk identification, assessment and monitoring frameworks, potentially covering a broad range of risks (e.g. credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk) and perform market intelligence activities (e.g. market monitoring, review of market analyst/rating agencies reports);
- contribute to the development and update of the supervisory priorities for the SSM;
- develop ideas to advise on strategic topics and make methodologies/processes more effective;
- contribute to research topics relevant to banking supervision, including conducting literature surveys or quantitative data analyses;
- carry out organisational tasks in the context of research seminars and conferences;
- interact and collaborate on a regular basis with a broad range of stakeholders, both within and outside your team.
This traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to gain insights into how the ECB works, acquire hands-on experience in an area of interest to you and put your theoretical knowledge into practice. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous professional excellence and 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, engineering, mathematics, statistics, business administration or another relevant subject;
- a good understanding of banking business, banking risk management and risks to banks such as credit risk, market risk, liquidity and funding risks, operational risk, interest rate risk in the banking book, business model risk, and climate-related and environmental risks;
- good analytical skills, including the ability to gather data from multiple sources, run data quality assurance checks, and identify and visualise clear patterns to answer precise analytical questions via the production of charts, graphs, etc.;
- good programming skills, including proficiency in statistical software;
- a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
- good communication, presentation and drafting skills;
- 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 general interest in banking supervision, the corresponding EU regulations and European current affairs;
- a proven record of research publications.
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.
Working modalities
Playing a role in European banking supervision entails collaborating in multinational and multicultural teams and operating in the context of different national frameworks, for which a strong ability to use different EU languages for business purposes is an asset.
Further information
We are offering 3 traineeship positions of 6 months each, extendable for another 6 months up to a total of 12 months. The traineeships will have varying starting dates from January 2024, to be agreed with the successful candidates. One of the successful candidates will work part-time on research and part-time on risk analysis and market intelligence activities.
Application and selection process
The recruitment process for this position will include a pre-recorded video interview in the pre-selection phase and – if you are invited to participate in the subsequent selection phase – an online interview via Webex.
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.
