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), 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
06.01.2022
Your team
You will be part of the Financial Research Division in the Directorate General Research. The Division’s economists conduct policy-relevant research on financial and monetary economics. Staff of the Division also prepare policy notes and reports for the ECB’s internal and external use. As part of the team, you will mainly support the work of your colleagues by compiling and analysing time-series, cross-sectional and panel datasets; one trainee may be dedicated to support the development and application of macro-financial dynamic general equilibrium models.
The Student Research Assistant Traineeship Programme is aimed at high-performing students with a strong quantitative background and an interest in policy-relevant applied research. You are encouraged to apply if you have completed a bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, finance, computer science, mathematics or a related field, and especially if you are currently pursuing postgraduate studies (a master’s or PhD) in one of these fields.
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 Student Research Assistant Trainee, you will:
- construct and maintain monetary, financial and economic databases;
- present data in conjunction with basic economic and statistical analyses;
- develop mathematical, statistical and econometric procedures for research projects;
- support and maintain software tools and hardware installations.
Depending on your areas of expertise, you will support research projects by conducting microeconometric analyses (primarily in Stata) or time-series analyses (primarily in MATLAB and R) or by applying big data/machine learning techniques (using SQL and Python).
The Programme gives you the opportunity to work closely with the Division’s economists and management, supporting them in academic research projects and in work of an operational nature, such as the preparation of policy-related notes for the ECB’s Executive Board. You will be able to develop your analytical skills and gain an insight into the ECB’s research activities and policymaking processes. You will also be exposed to new ideas and stimuli that can provide a useful foundation for your future career and/or graduate studies. 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:
- for a traineeship paid at €1,070, a bachelor’s degree or higher in economics, statistics, finance, computer science, mathematics or a related field;
- for a traineeship paid at €1,940, at least two years of PhD studies in economics, statistics, finance, computer science, mathematics or a related field;
- experience in at least one of the following areas of technical expertise: analysing macroeconomic or financial time-series data (using, for example, vector autoregression, state-space models, factor models or nonlinear econometric techniques); compiling and analysing large microeconomic databases, such as high-frequency data, household or firm-level survey data, or bank/firm balance sheet data (using, for example, fixed and random effects estimation in cross-section and panel data, difference-in-difference estimators or propensity score matching estimators); applying machine learning techniques to big data (e.g. macroeconomic forecasting, textual data); modelling, solving and estimating dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models;
- an excellent command of at least one of the following high-level programming languages: MATLAB, Stata, Python or R;
- familiarity with macroeconomic and financial statistics as presented in international databases (e.g. the ECB’s Statistical Data Warehouse, ECB Household Finance and Consumption Survey, Eurostat statistics, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) statistics, International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Financial Statistics);
- familiarity with at least one of the following databases/providers: Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters Eikon or Datastream, Haver Analytics, Bureau van Dijk, Fitch Connect, SNL Financial, Dealogic or Bankscope;
- very good knowledge of spreadsheet and database software, such as Microsoft Excel, SQL, Microsoft Access and FAME, and, in particular, an ability to use Excel graphing, pivot tables and summary statistics functions;
- 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.
Desired:
- for a traineeship paid at €1,070, ideally a master’s degree or a period of study towards a master’s degree in economics, statistics, finance, computer science, mathematics or a related field;
- knowledge of other standard software (e.g. SAS, Dynare, OxMetrics, RATS).
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
The traineeship will be for an initial duration of 3 to 6 months, with a possible extension up to a total of 12 months, depending on organisational needs and individual performance. Applications from candidates who are available outside the summer months are particularly welcome.
The traineeship grant is €1,070 per month plus an accommodation allowance.
The PhD traineeship grant is €1,940 per month plus an accommodation allowance.
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.
