Traineeship in the Strategic Risk and Analytics Division

Job Description

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: 21.07.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Strategic Risk and Analytics Division in the Directorate Supervisory Strategy and Risk. Our Directorate has over 100 staff members working towards two complementary objectives: (i) defining the strategy and priorities of European banking supervision, and (ii) promoting consistent supervisory outcomes by acting as a second line of defence.

In your role as a trainee in the Strategic Risk and Analytics Division, you will be part of a team of around 18 members of staff responsible for identifying and monitoring the evolution of the main risks to the banking sector, and defining the priorities for ECB Banking Supervision. 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 the risk tolerance framework that fosters risk based supervision, supports simplification initiatives and promotes the effective translation of the supervisory priorities into strategic planning. The team is also in charge of developing the research agenda for ECB Banking Supervision, actively contributes to research projects relevant to banking supervision and supports internal initiatives to engage with research.

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

As a trainee in the Strategic Risk and Analytics Division, depending on the team to which you are assigned, you will:

• contribute to the team’s new initiatives and ongoing work;
• collaborate closely with other team members to draft presentations and notes, conduct quantitative/qualitative risk analyses, and carry out market research and benchmarking studies;
• help develop ECB Banking Supervision’s risk identification, assessment and monitoring framework, potentially covering a broad range of risks (such as credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk), and perform market intelligence activities (such as market monitoring and reviews of market analysts’ / rating agency reports);
• help develop and update the SSM supervisory priorities;
• 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;
• help organise research seminars and conferences;
• interact and collaborate regularly with a broad range of stakeholders, both within and outside your team.

This position offers you excellent opportunities to gain insight 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 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 sound 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 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 by producing charts and graphs;
• 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

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 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.

Further information on how to apply is available on our website.

Closing date: 21.07.2025

About the Organization

The ECB is the central bank for Europe's single currency, the euro. The ECB’s main task is to maintain the euro's purchasing power and thus price stability in the euro area. The euro area comprises the 16 European Union countries that have introduced the euro since 1999.