Traineeship in the Accounting Section

The European Central Bank; Frankfurt; Vor Ort; EUR 12.000 - 14.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Accommodation allowance

Zusammenfassung

The European Central Bank in Frankfurt is inviting applications for an accounting trainee position within the Accounting Section of the Financial Accounting and Reporting Division. You will support accounts payable/receivable, VAT, fixed assets, and year-end closing activities as part of a 6–12 month traineeship.

You will work with a 25-member team, gain hands-on experience in finance, and contribute to automation and digitalisation initiatives while learning ECB processes and controls.

Qualifikationen

• Bachelor's degree or higher in accounting, finance, or a related field.
• Knowledge of accounting and information technology for financial accounting.
• Strong MS Office skills, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
• Advanced MS Excel and data management/analysis tools.
• Programming skills (e.g., Python) with code documentation ability.
• Knowledge of accounting principles and financial statements.
• Experience with accounts payable/receivable and ERP systems (e.g., SAP).
• Experience in data analysis and interpreting data.

Aufgaben

• Process accounts payable and accounts receivable.
• Manage VAT, fixed assets and leasing accounts.
• Contribute to payroll and pension accounting.
• Close year-end accounts and assist with ECB annual disclosures.
• Support process improvements toward automation and digitisation.

Kenntnisse

Analytical skills

Curious and eager to learn

Team collaboration

Attention to detail

Ausbildung

Bachelor's degree or higher in accounting, finance, business administration or another relevant field

Tools

SAP

Python

Excel

PowerPoint

Data visualization tools

Jobbeschreibung

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

Your team

You will be part of the Accounting Section in the Financial Accounting and Reporting Division within the Directorate Finance.

In your role as a trainee in the Accounting Section, you will be part of a team of 25 members of staff responsible for processing incoming and outgoing invoices, dealing with VAT and other tax matters, maintaining the ECB's fixed asset and leasing accounts, levying fees on supervised credit institutions, contributing to payroll and pension accounting, and performing other financial accounting tasks. These include closing the corresponding accounts at year-end and contributing to the disclosures required for the ECB's annual accounts preparation process. We look to continuously improve our processes and procedures in all these areas, moving towards straight-through processing, automation and digitalisation.

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 Accounting Section you will:

• contribute to regular accounting processes not related to monetary policy (such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets and year-end procedures) that involve working with ECB SAP components relevant to financial accounting;
• advise purchasing business areas, contractors (creditors or debtors) and other relevant stakeholders on accounting issues, and contribute to the development and implementation of accounting concepts for new business cases;
• support the analysis and presentation of accounting data for management information and decision-making purposes;
• help optimise and document internal processes and procedures, such as the analysis and implementation of innovative business processes and solutions.

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

• a bachelor's degree or higher in accounting, finance, business administration or another relevant field;
• knowledge of accounting or information technology for financial accounting;
• a good knowledge of the MS Office package, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
• an advanced knowledge of MS Excel and other tools for data management and analysis;
• a working knowledge of other software applications and data visualisation tools, and programming skills (e.g. for Python), including the ability to document and explain code;
• knowledge of accounting principles and financial statements;
• experience and interest in accounts payable or accounts receivable processing;
• knowledge of enterprise resource planning systems (such as SAP);
• experience and interest in data analysis and the ability to interpret data;

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 start date is planned to be in the first quarter of 2027.

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Heiko Nordhausen on [phone].

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview and a remote written exercise.

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.