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 26.09.2025
Your team
You will be part of the Legislation Division in the Directorate General Legal Services. Our Division is responsible for preparing the ECB’s legal acts in the official languages of the EU, reviewing legal texts for legal, linguistic and terminological consistency, and maintaining a legal terminology database.
In your role as a trainee, you will be part of a team of 40 members of staff and will work closely with other relevant ECB business areas in all of the ECB’s fields of competence.
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 Lawyer-Linguist with German as your main language, you will:
- translate draft ECB legal acts and other legal documents from English into German;
- revise German translations of ECB legal acts and other legal documents;
- translate legal texts from German into English for internal working purposes, and revise translations from German into English of national laws and other legal documents;
- contribute to the drafting of ECB legal acts;
- carry out legal research related to legislative drafting and in areas relevant to the ECB’s activities as a central bank and banking supervisor;
- depending on organisational needs and expressed interest, contribute to developing solutions for the effective use of technology and to enhancing the processes involved in legal revision, legal translation and the publication of legal acts.
The traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to contribute to the quality of ECB legal acts, as well as to engage in the Division’s projects related to the development of the ECB’s lawyer-linguist function and the use of technology. 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 degree in German or Austrian law from a German or Austrian university (e.g. Erste juristische Staatsprüfung/Erstes juristisches Staatsexamen, Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or higher, or Magister der Rechtswissenschaften);
- a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
- a mastery-level (C2) command of German and an advanced (C1) command of English, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Desired:
- a good knowledge of EU law;
- a basic knowledge of EU and German or Austrian banking and financial law;
- a qualification in modern languages and/or translation;
- experience in legal translation;
- at least an intermediate-level (B1) command of one or more other official EU languages, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages;
- a demonstrable interest in combining law and technology or tackling technology-related projects;
- a demonstrable interest in and basic knowledge of generative artificial intelligence.
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 3 to 6 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 remote written exercise 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.
