General Information

• Type of contract: Fixed-term contract which may be converted into a permanent contract after three years subject to individual performance and organisational needs
• Who can apply?: EU nationals
• Salary: F/G (bracket 1 - step 1) full time monthly net salary: €5,743 plus benefits, for further information see
• Working time: Full time
• Place of work: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Closing date: 22.09.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Directorate General Legal Services and work in the Institutional Law Division, the Supervisory Law Division or the Financial Law Division.

Our Directorate General comprises about 160 lawyers from the 27 EU Member States. We advise on all legal aspects of the regulatory, contractual and institutional framework of the ECB, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). We draft legal instruments and address questions relating to the interpretation of the Treaties establishing the European Union. We also prepare the ECB’s opinions on draft EU and national legislation and contribute to the definition of the ECB’s legal position with regards to EU institutions and Member States, and in international fora.

We are currently looking to fill several Legal Counsel positions across the three divisions of the Directorate General Legal Services.

The Institutional Law Division employs about 25 lawyers providing legal advice on: the scope, limits and safeguards of the ECB’s powers, including central bank independence and the prohibition of monetary financing; the governance of the ECB, the ESCB, the Eurosystem and the SSM, including decision-making procedures and internal finances; public access to ECB documents and the principles of confidentiality and transparency; and the ECB’s relationship with other EU institutions, international organisations and national authorities, including the privileges and immunities of the ECB and the principle of sincere cooperation. We also advise on civil service law, procurement law, non-financial contracts and other institutional legal issues such as banknotes, intellectual property and taxation. We represent the ECB in proceedings before the EU and national courts in all of these areas.

The Supervisory Law Division employs about 35 lawyers advising the supervisory function of the ECB under the SSM on all aspects of supervisory law, including the interpretation and application of the entire legal framework on the prudential supervision of credit institutions. In addition, we assist the ECB’s decision-making bodies, the Administrative Board of Review and the ECB representatives to the Supervisory Board in banking supervision-related legal matters. We also defend the ECB in court when the exercise of its supervisory competences is challenged.

The Financial Law Division employs about 35 lawyers providing advice on legal questions related to monetary policy, own funds and foreign reserve management operations, as well as the statistics framework and data management. We advise on Eurosystem financial market infrastructures (FMIs), such as T2, T2S, TIPS and ECMS, and on FMI oversight. We provide legal support to Eurosystem projects, both existing and under consideration, such as the digital euro project, the Eurosystem’s provision of wholesale settlement services in central bank money and the connection of Eurosystem retail payment platforms with foreign instant payment systems or platforms. We also provide advice on financial regulation, financial stability matters and economic governance. We represent the ECB in proceedings before the EU and national courts in all of these areas.

In your role as Legal Counsel you will provide legal advice on institutional law, supervisory law or financial law matters as part of a team of lawyers and occasionally individually. You will work closely and have frequent interactions with the relevant ECB policy areas.

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.

Candidates qualified in Croatian, Estonian, Greek, Irish, Latvian or Luxembourgish law and interested in working in the Supervisory Law Division are particularly encouraged to apply, as these jurisdictions are not currently represented in this Division.

Your role

As a Legal Counsel you will:

• analyse complex information and evaluate different views to provide legally sound solutions, taking into account stakeholder needs;
• prepare legal analysis for the ECB’s decision-making bodies, your partner ECB policy areas and management;
• work in a support function and/or as an agent in court proceedings;
• provide legal advice as part of a team and occasionally individually:
  • For the Institutional Law Division you will: advise on EU constitutional law matters, in particular on the scope, limits and safeguards of the ECB’s powers, including central bank independence and the prohibition of monetary financing; on the governance of the ECB, the ESCB, the Eurosystem and the SSM, including decision-making procedures and internal finances; on public access and the principles of confidentiality and transparency; on the ECB’s relationship with other EU institutions and international organisations, as well as the privileges and immunities of the ECB.
  • For the Supervisory Law Division you will: advise on supervisory legal matters raised by the SSM and communicate with supervisors and colleagues from other supervisory policy functions. Such legal advice relates to the interpretation and application of the entire legal framework on prudential supervision of credit institutions, including topics such as own funds, liquidity, governance and risk management, common procedures, fit and proper matters, sanctions and enforcement, securitisations, information exchange and crisis management.
  • For the Financial Law Division you will: advise on financial law matters, in particular on the ECB’s legal framework on monetary policy and foreign reserves management; on the operation, regulation and oversight of FMIs, the ECB’s legal framework on the collection and management of statistics and other data and the Eurosystem’s contribution to EU financial regulation and economic governance. You will also provide legal advice on Eurosystem projects, both existing and under consideration, with an emphasis on the digital euro project, the Eurosystem’s provision of wholesale settlement services in central bank money and the connection of Eurosystem retail payment platforms with foreign instant payment systems or platforms.

For these roles, we are seeking candidates who demonstrate the potential for growth, and we will support the selected candidates in their development of the required skills.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to develop a broad understanding of institutional, supervisory or financial legal issues and to interact with your partner policy areas on issues of topical relevance to the ECB, the SSM and their respective objectives and priorities. 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 master’s degree or equivalent in law, obtained in an EU Member State (see How you can join us for details on degree equivalences) or admission to the bar in an EU Member State;
• in addition to the above, at least three years’ relevant work experience following completion of an advanced law degree or a professional legal qualification in EU constitutional and institutional law (for the Institutional Law Division); or in prudential supervision, financial law-related matters or EU law (for the Supervisory Law Division); or in financial law-related matters (for the Financial Law Division);
• proven knowledge of EU law and procedures, as well as a good understanding of the functioning of EU institutions and bodies;
• very good knowledge of EU constitutional law as defined under “Your role” (for the Institutional Law Division); or very good knowledge of EU regulations on prudential supervision matters including the crisis management framework, as well as the functioning of credit institutions (for the Supervisory Law Division); or very good knowledge of general financial law and sound knowledge of EU financial regulation and a good understanding of the functioning of financial markets and institutions (for the Financial Law Division);
• 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:

• an additional postgraduate university degree in banking, financial or EU constitutional law, and membership of a bar association;
• previous work experience with the legal service of an EU institution or body or a constitutional court of an EU Member State, including work in applied comparative constitutional law (for the Institutional Law Division); with an EU institution or body or national competent authority in the field of prudential banking supervision (for the Supervisory Law Division); with an EU institution or body, an international organisation, a national authority, a central bank, a financial institution or law firm, dealing with relevant financial law matters (for the Financial Law Division);
• experience in litigation before the EU courts.

You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people’s diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.

You are motivated to be part of our team and to develop and use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

You are aware of your strengths and areas for development and know what motivates you to perform at your highest level.

Working modalities

To enable the Directorate General Legal Services to maintain its business continuity capability, you will occasionally be expected to perform work during non-standard working hours.

We would be happy to discuss a part-time arrangement for this role.

Further information

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to James Roberts on +49 (0)69 1344 4291 on Tuesday, 9 September.

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will be conducted remotely. It will include a written exercise, a presentation and an interview.

You are invited to indicate whether you are applying for the position in the Institutional Law Division, the Supervisory Law Division or the Financial Law Division in the motivation section of the application form.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list (see step 4 of How we hire), from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.

Find out how to apply for a position at the ECB.

Read more about how you can join us.