Traineeship in environmental sustainability in banknote production

This traineeship is in the Production Section of the Directorate Banknotes at the European Central Bank.

Your team

You will be part of the Production Section in the Directorate Banknotes. The Directorate has approximately 70 staff guaranteeing the integrity and availability of euro banknotes as an efficient means of payment and protecting them against counterfeiting. Specifically, the Directorate oversees all of the ECB’s banknote development and production activities, including quality management, across the Eurosystem and with third parties.

The Production Section is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the production of euro banknotes and their raw materials, including the accreditation of manufacturers. It ensures overall compliance with environmental, health, safety, ethical, security and quality standards, approves production references in printing works and paper mills and provides technical support for the development of new banknote series. The team is currently working on various banknote-related sustainability topics, including an environmental impact assessment using the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology, the use of sustainable cotton and the promotion of recycling as a waste disposal method.

In your role as a trainee in environmental sustainability in the Production Section, you will be part of a small team of three members of staff responsible for all environmental, health and safety (EHS) aspects of banknote production. You will work closely with the other sections in the Directorate Banknotes, as well as euro area national central banks and banknote manufacturers.

Your role

• Support the Environmental, Health and Safety team within the Production Section in all EHS-related activities.
• Contribute to an environmental impact assessment of euro banknotes and coins using the PEF methodology developed by the European Commission.
• Support research activities looking into ways of reducing the environmental impact of waste disposal in the cash cycle and devise strategies to encourage environmentally friendly waste disposal such as re-use and recycling.
• Develop and present EHS data provided by the accredited manufacturers and engage with stakeholders on EHS topics.
• Support other ad-hoc activities related to banknote production and environmental issues.

The traineeship offers excellent opportunities to work closely with banknote production experts on EHS topics and to apply the PEF methodology to euro banknotes and coins. 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 environmental science or another relevant field such as chemical engineering, chemistry or biology, with a focus on the environment.
• A sound understanding of environmental reporting and assessments.
• A sound theoretical background in environmental sustainability, health and safety.
• Excellent data management, analytical and quantitative skills with advanced knowledge of and experience in using Excel to manage and assess data.
• A good knowledge of the MS Office package.
• 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

• Experience of environmental reporting and assessments.
• Experience or knowledge of life cycle assessments.
• Experience in conducting data assessment and database management.

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 the 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.