Traineeships in the European Central Bank

Our European Central Bank Directorate General has over 200 staff members responsible for activities related to the provision of payments and securities settlement under the brand “TARGET Services”, as well as the oversight of financial market infrastructures and payment instruments. We also cooperate with the financial industry to promote innovation and harmonisation of business practices across Europe. We work on a number of initiatives to enhance the efficiency of retail payments and instant payment solutions, and we actively investigate the benefits and challenges of the latest technological developments in the context of payment solutions. At the same time, we continue to pay close attention to the wide array of threats in the area of payment systems and we take measures to support cyber resilience and to help the financial sector remain alert and prepared.

The European Central Bank 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.

As a trainee in one of our divisions you will:

• help to manage financial market infrastructure projects and operations (including planning, monitoring and reporting);
• support a variety of project activities and coordinate testing and launch activities, including by interacting directly with key stakeholders;
• work with internal and external counterparts on administrative matters and standard enquiries, ensuring effective communication within your division and beyond, with committees of the European System of Central Banks and with various other working groups;
• support the planning of internal and external meetings and conferences;
• manage internal and external information flows in your business area, in line with deadlines and confidentiality requirements, by updating, recording, storing and/or distributing information;
• maintain databases and data management processes, systems and tools, collect information and process documents, charts, dashboards and presentations.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to deepen your knowledge of the Eurosystem’s market infrastructure and gain an insight into the role that the ECB plays in coordinating the operations of existing services as well as developing and enhancing new services. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Essential:

• a bachelor’s degree or higher in economics, business administration, econometrics, programming, computer science, engineering, finance, mathematics or physics, auditing, communication, law (with specialisation in the area of financial markets) or a related field;
• 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.

Desired:

• basic knowledge or experience in the area of payments, securities settlement or collateral management, including back-office applications;
• basic knowledge of central banking and an understanding of the ECB’s mission, tasks and responsibilities;
• knowledge of project management principles;
• a general understanding of IT applications and the software development life cycle (in particular the testing phase);
• strong analytical skills (especially in the context of transforming business requirements into test scenarios and test cases);
• basic knowledge of XML and ISO 20022 messages.

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.

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 and a remote written exercise.

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 similar positions within the ECB.