European Central Bank: Traineeships in the Budgeting and Controlling Division

General Information

Type of contract  Traineeship

Who can apply?  EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme

Grant  The trainee grant is €1,070 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)

Working time  Full time

Place of work  Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date  22.09.2023

Your team

You will be part of the Budget and Controlling Division in the Directorate Finance. Our Division has 40 members of staff and serves as the finance budget partner for all business areas. We produce the underlying data for budgeting, cost accounting and resource planning, calculate supervisory fees and prepare reports for our stakeholders. We also collaborate with managers across the ECB to determine the human and financial resources needed to meet their strategic goals and stabilise costs.

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 Budgeting and Controlling Division, you will work on a wide spectrum of operational and policy tasks linked to the ECB’s budget and related controlling activities. Your tasks will include:

• supporting planning and the monitoring of regular expenditure;
• carrying out reporting and forecasting activities;
• supporting regular and specific financial data analysis;
• carrying out financial dashboard activities and work related to the IT system;
• supporting the optimisation of organisational compliance frameworks and rules relating to budgeting and controlling, as well as monitoring adherence to them;
• enhancing data and knowledge management structures and tools;
• supporting project performance control from a financial perspective;
• managing system administration tasks (e.g. document management, workflow management and internal communication).

The traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to gain insight into how the ECB works, acquire hands-on experience in finance 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 accounting, finance, business or public administration, risk management, statistics, information technology or another relevant field;
• a good knowledge of the MS Office package, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
• 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: 

• an advanced knowledge of MS Excel and other tools for data management and analysis;
• working knowledge of data visualisation tools (e.g. Tableau), enterprise resource planning systems (e.g. SAP) and software such as VBA, MS Access and MS Project;
• experience in data analysis and interpretation;
• knowledge of, and some experience in, one or more of the following fields:
• accounting/financial reporting;
• financial markets;
• financial instruments;
• financial statement analysis;
• financial risk management;
• information technology for financial applications.

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

Traineeship of six months, with the possibility of an extension up to 12 months in the same division or in another division or section within the Directorate Finance.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website.

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Luminita Dascalu, on +49 (0)69 1344 4805, Claire Burns, on +49 (0)69 1344 6511, or Ana Maria Lupu, on +49 (0)69 1344 7790, between 10:30 and 11:30 or 16:00 and 17:00 on Wednesday, 6 September.

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.

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.