Position Details Traineeships in the Directorate Market Operations Reference

2016-122-TRA EXT

Function The Directorate General Market Operations (DG/M) of the European Central Bank (ECB) is seeking recent graduates for its 2016 Traineeship Programme. DG/M prepares the monetary policy and foreign exchange operations of the Eurosystem, executes those that are centralised and coordinates those that are decentralised. It manages the ECB’s foreign reserves and own funds, and develops and maintains the framework for all financial market activities. DG/M coordinates the reserve management services that the Eurosystem provides to non-euro area central banks, monetary authorities, public financial institutions, and international institutions. It monitors and analyses market developments that are relevant for the conduct of market operations. DG/M cooperates closely with other business areas of the ECB, the national central banks (NCBs) of the Member States of the European Union (EU) and non-EU G10 central banks. It maintains regular contact with financial market participants. DG/M comprises a multicultural team of highly skilled professionals who work in the following five divisions: the Money Market and Liquidity Division (MML), the Market Operations Analysis Division (MOA) (split into a Market Operations Framework Section, a Financial Markets and Collateral Section and a Pricing and Analysis Team), the Financial Operations Services Division (FOS), the Market Operations Systems Division (MOS) and the Bond Markets and International Operations Division (BMI) (split into a Euro Area Bond Markets Section and an International Markets Section). DG/M also has a team responsible for sovereign issues. The successful applicants will be entrusted with the following main tasks: Market Operations Analysis Division:

assisting in the monitoring and analysis of the performance of the Eurosystem’s monetary policy implementation framework and the Eurosystem’s balance sheet;

assisting in the monitoring and analysis of developments in counterparty eligibility;

assisting in the monitoring and analysis of the collateral positions of the banking system vis-à-vis the Eurosystem, including the maintenance of existing reports, and the improvement of their performance and efficiency by means of innovation that adheres to the highest IT standards;

contributing to project-related tasks associated with monetary policy implementation and ongoing regulatory initiatives;

Market Operations Systems Division:

contributing to project-related tasks, i.e. supporting stakeholder communication, assisting experts with the collection and documentation of functional user requirements, and to the preparation of test material;

participating in software tests, introducing new business processes and taking ownership of specific tasks;

providing support to the help desk of the portfolio management system, which is aimed at end users in the ECB and NCB front, back and middle offices, as well as to the ECB accounting functions with respect to system configuration, feasibility analysis and investigations of specific issues;

contributing to the regular production of various regular and ad hoc reports, as well as maintaining and further improving existing tools, and creating new ones, in order to enhance efficiency and reduce operational risk;

Bond Markets and International Operations Division:

contributing to the regular production of various reports related to financial market developments (government, bank and corporate bonds, foreign exchange markets, etc.), the expanded asset purchase programme and the other ECB portfolios managed by the Division;

maintaining existing reporting procedures and tools, and improving their performance and efficiency through innovation that adheres to the highest IT standards;

contributing to the design of new regular reports to proactively seek better ways of interpreting current financial market developments, for example by means of visual presentations;

assisting in the production of ad hoc reports, analyses and presentations at the request of senior colleagues and management;

presenting report findings to the Division and to DG/M’s senior management;

attending and writing summaries of internal meetings and of meetings with external counterparties (mainly investment banks) in order to share information within the Division;

Financial Operations Services Division:

assisting with the reconciliation tasks and audit checks relating to the settlements made by the Division;

managing databases and data relating to the reserve management services offered by the Eurosystem to non-euro area central banks;

assisting, from a user’s perspective, in the development of relevant IT applications;

contributing to the preparation of reports, tables and presentations for Eurosystem task forces and working groups, as well as for meetings with market participants;

contributing to the preparation of results of surveys conducted among NCBs or market participants;

assisting with the analysis of the impact of regulatory change on the ECB’s operational activities;

Team responsible for sovereign issues:

contributing to the preparation of regular reports and communications on specific developments in countries with sovereign debt issues;

maintaining databases and becoming involved in small-scale IT developments related to countries’ and banks’ statistical information;

supporting experts in the team with the monitoring of, and analytical work related to, countries with sovereign debt issues.

Qualifications and experience Applicants must have the following knowledge and competencies:

a bachelor’s or master’s degree or equivalent in economics, econometrics, statistics, mathematics, finance or other relevant discipline;

an awareness of financial market structures, financial market developments and/or market operations;

experience with databases and data management in general;

a keen interest in participating in project activities in the field of business implementation, maintenance and development of IT applications for market operations;

a sound knowledge of the standard Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint);

knowledge of some of the following applications: Oracle SQL, VBA for MS Excel, Matlab, Stata, Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters Eikon;

an advanced-level command of English and a good knowledge of at least one other official language of the EU.

Competencies The successful candidate will have the following behavioural competencies:

communicates ideas effectively and works well in a team;

is able to carry out tasks without close supervision;

generates agreed results within tight time frames;

is analytical, thinks conceptually and processes information effectively;

is flexible and motivated;

pays attention to detail and takes pride in producing high-quality work;

handles sensitive information in a discreet manner, respecting confidentiality.

Closing Date for Applications: 27.06.2016 Further Information Traineeship of six months, with the possibility of an extension up to 12 months subject to individual performance and organisational needs. How to apply Applications are to be made in English and submitted using our online application form. An "Applicants' Guide" can be downloaded from our recruitment pages. The recruitment process may include a pre-screening exercise and a telephone interview. Before applying, applicants should check that they meet the conditions set out in Article 4 of the rules governing the traineeship programme: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/traineeship/html/index.en.html Further information on the ECB's traineeships can be found via the above link. Applicants are accepted from nationals of the Member States of the European Union. The requirements laid down in the vacancy notice must be met by the closing date for applications. This vacancy notice may be used to fill the same position again, or similar positions, within 12 months of the selection decision.

The selection committee may place suitable candidates on a reserve list, from which candidates may be appointed to similar positions in the same or another business area. It may also be decided to fill the position(s) advertised in this vacancy notice with a suitable candidate or candidates from the reserve list resulting from a recruitment procedure for a similar position. Candidates will be informed accordingly if this happens.