Traineeship in the Central Procurement Division

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

21.10.2026

Your team

You will be part of the Central Procurement Division in the Directorate Finance.

Our Directorate has around 100 staff responsible for the financial reporting of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurosystem, including the ECB’s financial and management accounting services and the Eurosystem’s monetary income allocation scheme. We also lay the groundwork for the ECB’s strategic and operational planning, including its annual budget, and maintain the banking supervisory fees framework. The Directorate participates in several Eurosystem committees and sub-structures in these areas.

The Central Procurement Division provides central coordination, oversight, advice and support services to ensure the success of the ECB’s procurement operations. This means that it acts as a second level of control and governance for the ECB’s procurement activities. The Division also develops and implements the procedural frameworks that govern the planning, execution and reporting of procurement at the ECB.

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 Central Procurement Division, you will:

• help to conduct public procurement operations (see our list of current tenders) by providing general administrative support, such as drafting correspondence with external providers and internal documents;
• provide procurement support on SAP Ariba, such as creating tendering events and communicating with tenderers, as well as supporting the procurement committees with administrative tasks from the initiation of a tender procedure until contract preparation;
• assist with the collection, maintenance, cleaning, analysis and processing of statistical data related to contracts and procurement;
• assist with the development and revision of internal guidelines, templates, processes, methodologies and other documentation;
• help with communications on the Division’s activities and regular or ad hoc reporting to internal and external stakeholders;
• contribute to the roll-out of new procurement-related IT tools and to the improvement of existing tools, for example by performing testing and developing or updating guidelines;
• contribute to initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency of the team’s work, and assist with reporting/analytics and the automation of existing processes, leveraging robotic process automation (RPA) and AI applications and tools as appropriate;
• work closely with all parties involved in procurement processes, both inside and outside the Division (e.g. in relation to external data sources and systems).

The traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to gain insight into how the ECB works, acquire hands-on experience in finance and procurement, 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 law, finance, business or public administration, economics or another relevant field;
• a general interest in European affairs, central banking and other matters of relevance to the ECB;
• a good knowledge of the Microsoft Office package with an advanced knowledge of Excel for data management and analysis;
• 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:

• knowledge of how administrative procedures function so that all relevant stakeholders are appropriately involved, that there are no delays and that the process is properly documented;
• user knowledge of enterprise resource planning systems such as SAP;
• user knowledge of reporting/analytics and RPA or AI tools.

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. The traineeship will ideally start on 15 March 2027.

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.

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.