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 28.10.2026
Your team
You will be part of the Market Infrastructure Management Division in the Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments. Our Directorate General has around 200 staff working to ensure that Europe’s financial markets are supported by safe and efficient market infrastructures, while embracing innovation and fostering European integration. We support the provision of payment and securities settlement services, oversee the performance of financial market infrastructures and payment instruments, and work with stakeholders to improve the functioning and integration of market infrastructures in the euro area.
The Market Infrastructure Management Division manages, analyses and coordinates the daily operation of the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services: T2 and TARGET Instant Payment Settlement for payments, TARGET2-Securities for securities settlement and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System for collateral management. The Division also operates Pontes, the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology solution.
In your role as a trainee, you will be part of a team of five members of staff responsible for analysing transaction-level data from the TARGET Services to support operations, risk assessment and policymaking.
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:
- use and manage large confidential transaction-level datasets, applying econometric and mathematical methods and using data visualisation software;
- contribute to building and maintaining databases and developing analytical tools and data visualisation techniques;
- support the collection, storage, management and sharing of information, explore new approaches to data analysis and propose solutions to technical issues;
- contribute to analytical and policy-related projects aimed at promoting efficient and integrated financial markets in the euro area and providing insights into key central bank functions;
- support assessments of financial market infrastructures’ compliance with regulatory requirements and analyse their risks and interconnectedness;
- contribute to briefings, memos, papers and reports on analytical and policy-related projects, and help present technical topics to non-technical audiences.
This traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to gain hands-on experience in analysing financial market infrastructures and learn about the Eurosystem’s role in this area. You will contribute to improving the safety and efficiency of financial market infrastructures and payments in the euro area, while using cutting edge analytical tools to address operational issues relating to financial market infrastructures. 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, business administration, econometrics, data science, computer science, engineering, finance, mathematics, statistics, physics 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:
- a master’s degree or higher in economics, business administration, econometrics, data science, computer science, engineering, finance, mathematics, statistics, physics or a related field;
- knowledge or practical experience of data management, mathematical, statistical or econometric software or programming languages (such as Excel, SQL, Stata, R, Python or MATLAB) and/or network analysis or data visualisation software (such as Tableau or Power BI);
- experience working with financial datasets and/or knowledge of financial instruments;
- proven ability to work with large micro-level datasets, including cleaning and preparing data for analysis;
- experience with panel data and/or time series econometric methods;
- knowledge and/or experience of payment systems, securities settlement, central counterparties and/or collateral management from an operational, regulatory or oversight perspective.
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
Initial traineeship of six months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total.
Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website.
Application and selection process
The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview and a written exercise.
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.