General Information
Type of contract
PhD traineeship
Who can apply?
EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme
Grant
The trainee grant is €2,120 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)
Working time
Full time
Place of work
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Closing date
23.11.2021
Your team
You will be part of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Directorate General International and European Relations. Our Directorate General has 120 staff and prepares the policy positions of the ECB, the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks on international and European issues (except for positions on the macroeconomic policies of the euro area or EU Member States).
In your role as a PhD trainee, you will be part of a team in the International Policy Analysis Division. The Division analyses issues of systemic relevance relating to the global economy, the global monetary and financial system and the international financial architecture, including matters relating to global financial markets, international spillovers, globalisation, commodity markets and exchange rates.
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 PhD trainee you will:
- contribute to the Division’s analytical work by carrying out research projects in collaboration with staff members;
- further develop quantitative tools and modelling infrastructure;
- participate in projects that may provide an opportunity to write a paper for publication in the ECB’s Working Paper Series or academic journals;
- gain relevant experience in policy-related tasks using analytical tools;
- present the results of your research in internal seminars.
The PhD trainee position offers you excellent opportunities to be part of a team of highly qualified experts in the fields of international macroeconomics and international finance under the guidance of a mentor. You will be able to develop your potential and quickly contribute to the work we do. 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
- a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of PhD studies in economics, finance, statistics, data science or a closely related field;
- sound knowledge of international macroeconomics, monetary economics and/or international finance, including financial markets;
- excellent knowledge of macro-modelling tools and/or econometric techniques (for example heterogenous agent models or experience working with macro-econometric models such as structural vector autoregressions (VARs), panel VARs and non-linear VARs);
- familiarity with computational/statistical/econometric software packages (e.g. MATLAB, Dynare, Python, R, Stata, EViews and Julia);
- a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
- 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.
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 objectives of this position.
Further information
PhD traineeship of between 3 and 12 months in total.
Application and selection process
Further information on how to join us is available on our
website.
The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview via Webex.
You are requested to submit one project proposal (maximum of one page) in any core area of international economics or finance, or a newly debated topic, such as the international relevance of digital currencies and the global impact of the pandemic or climate change. Please include your project proposal (adding your name at the top of the page) with your application by uploading it as a .pdf file. Your proposal concerning a project that is both interesting and well-defined methodologically will be an essential part of the selection procedure.
Examples of relevant topics include:
- issues related to commodities, exchange rates and global finance;
- issues related to the international monetary system, including the international role of currencies, the implications of the issuance and scarcity of safe assets and the rise of digital currencies;
- issues related to monetary policy spillovers and their impact on international capital flows, the global financial cycle, the impact of financial globalisation, the global drivers of the natural rate, capital flow management, the global financial safety net and the global economic implications of climate change.
Examples of relevant methodologies include:
- structural vector autoregression (VAR) models, local projections, macro-modelling techniques, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) and heterogeneous agent models, panel data and instrumental variable estimation, and factor models.
