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: 25.02.2026
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 database of relevant terminology. We are also responsible for publishing and disseminating the ECB’s legal framework and other legal publications.
In the field of banking supervision, we provide advice and expertise on the drafting of ECB supervisory decisions and are involved in preparing and reviewing such decisions. We also contribute to horizontal banking supervision projects and the implementation of common policies in this field.
In your role as a trainee lawyer-linguist, you will be part of the team of around 40 lawyer-linguists in our Division, and will work closely with them and other relevant business areas across 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 you will:
- edit and revise ECB legal acts and other legal texts written in English and assist ECB business areas in drafting such texts;
- help prepare ECB legal acts for publication in English, applying EU legislative drafting rules and ensuring legal, linguistic and terminological consistency;
- help refine the methodologies and procedures for drafting and revising ECB legal acts;
- carry out legal research related to legislative drafting and topics relevant to the ECB’s activities as a central bank and a banking supervisor;
- contribute to broader projects involving other language desks in the Division.
The traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to gain experience in drafting and revising legal texts in English, including those for publication, while contributing to the quality of ECB legal acts. 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 (or an equivalent law degree) obtained from a degree programme taught in English;
- a strong interest in drafting, editing and revising texts in English on legal matters;
- a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
- a mastery-level (C2) command of English with proven drafting ability 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:
- a good knowledge of EU law;
- a basic knowledge of EU banking and financial law;
- a qualification in modern languages and/or translation;
- experience in legal editing and revision, and/or translation;
- a demonstrable interest in and/or experience with using visualisation and collaboration 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 four 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.
