TRAINEESHIP POSITIONS

Main Responsibilities

PROFILES DESCRIPTION 

1) The Consumer Protection Department is responsible for developing and maintaining EIOPA's conduct of business policy and supervision work through:

• advice to the European Commission on legislation including in the field of digital finance and sustainable finance;
• developing technical rules;
• developing guidelines to ensure EU law is applied consistently, including in relation to digital related topics such as such as differential pricing practices and sustainable finance related ones such greenwashing and conduct related aspects fo the NatCat protection gap;
• driving the development of consistent and effective conduct of business supervision across the EU;
• monitoring conduct risks including risks resulting in poor consumers’ financial health and limited financial inclusion, across the EU and working with national supervisors on addressing risks;
• engaging with stakeholders from consumer, industry, academia and national and international authorities.

1.1 Conduct and Sustainability Profile:

Under the responsibility of the Head of the Consumer Protection Department and the oversight of team leader, the trainee will be involved in some of the following activities:

• Sustainability and greenwashing: work on sustainability-related topics such as greenwashing, consumer sustainability preferences, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) as well as demand-side aspects of the NatCat protection gap such as consumer research and assessment on clarity of information provided to consumers; 
• Thematic investigations: help with thematic reviews related to products or services, reporting on consumer trends and developing key risk indicators to analyse retail conduct risks this to determine product value as well as whether and why consumers may not be sufficiently served by the insurance and pension sectors; 
• Research related to consumer protection rules: researching specific topics including in relation to product value, sustainability aspects, financial inclusion, behavioural economics, etc. also in various languages, and preparing notes for a variety of stakeholders; 
• Carrying out consumer research and behavioural studies: carrying out studies and more broadly research aimed at understanding consumers’ relationship and perception of insurance and pensions products. Research also includes behavioural experiments to test consumers’ actual experience with insurance and pensions products;
• Analysis: analysing information for the use of different Consumer Protection Department reports, including statistics and research results;
• Support in external and internal engagements: supporting the preparation of conferences, meetings with external stakeholders and surveys of participants.

1.2 Digital Profile:

Under the responsibility of the Head of the Consumer Protection Department and the oversight of the Head of Unit, the trainee will be involved in some of the following activities: 

• Artificial Intelligence: support the implementation of the AI Act in the insurance sector and other related supervisory convergence work in the area of AI;
• SupTech: support in the development of SupTech tools (management of service providers, data quality and tools testing);
• Monitoring digitalisation opportunities and risks: work on monitoring and analysis of emerging opportunities and risks arising from the digitalisation of the insurance market;
• Analysis: analysis of internal and external sources of information such as surveys, consultation papers, or meetings with stakeholders related to digitalization;
• Support in external and internal engagements: supporting the preparation of conferences, surveys and meetings with internal and external stakeholders.

2) The Corporate Affairs Department is responsible for:

• providing support to the EIOPA Chairperson as well as Executive Director on all governance related matters;
• supporting management in reviewing the institution’s strategic direction;
• developing and maintaining contacts with European institutions and bodies, including coordination with the EBA and ESMA in Paris;
• organising and coordinating meetings of EIOPA's decision making bodies as well as EIOPA’s Stakeholder Groups;
• leading EIOPA’s external and internal communications including press, speeches, website;
• overseeing efficient and timely provision of legal advice and performing legal quality control.

The Corporate Affairs Department is composed of the Institutional Relations, Strategy & Implementation Team, the Communications Team and the Legal Team.

Under the responsibility of the Head of the Corporate Affairs Department/Head of Legal Unit and the oversight of a mentor, the trainee will be working on one of the following profiles:

2.1 Institutional Relations, Strategy & Implementation Profile:

• supporting senior management in developing and reviewing the Authority’s  strategic direction;
• supporting the preparation of meetings held by the EIOPA Chairperson and Executive Director;
• supporting the team in liaising with the EU Institutions and bodies, the EBA and ESMA and other stakeholders;
• conducting research on EU policy dossiers under negotiation and supporting the development of the Authority’s positions;
• contributing to regular EU policy updates to EIOPA’s management team, including possible effects on EIOPA’s work programme;
• enhancing our dialogue with the two EIOPA's Stakeholder Groups, thereby also providing secretarial assistance;
• any other tasks as required.

2.2 Communications Profile:

• contributing to the development of written content for internal and external communication channels;
• assisting with video productions and graphic design (including infographics), and developing visual and multimedia content for social media and the website;
• supporting press and media relations, including assisting with the preparation of press releases, monitoring and analysing media reporting, helping to organise briefing with journalists; 
• conducting research on topics relevant for the Communications Team including updating databases;
• contributing to the day-to-day work of the Communications Team.

2.3 Legal Profile:

• supporting the day-to-day work of the Legal Team, such as preparing replies to questions on sectoral legislations (e.g. insurance resolution, recovery, digital operational resilience) and assisting in compliance level of internal procedures (e.g. rules on protection of personal data);
• conducting legalresearch on subjects relevant for the Legal team including updating databases;
• contributing to the day-to-day work of the Legal Unit;
• monitoring and analysing jurisprudence relevant for EIOPA.

3) The Corporate Support Department is responsible for:

• supporting the Executive Director in the assignment of resources, finances, technology, communication tools, administration and logistics to support the efficient, effective and compliant operational functioning of the Authority;
• developing and implementing strategies in the following areas:
  • Information and Communication Technology: supporting the development, operation and evolution of EIOPA core systems and databases, including all information and communication, and ensuring the coherent and integrated delivery of Information and Communication Technology products and services to the organisation and to National Competent Authorities;
  • Human Resources: providing effective talent management, recruitment, training and development, competency management, performance management, remuneration, health and wellbeing and personnel administration services to the organisation as well as supporting the implementation of professional standards at EIOPA;
  • Corporate Services: providing cost-effective facilities, logistics, event and meetings management, document management and administrative support to the organisation;
  • Finance & Procurement: facilitating the effective discharge of EIOPA’s governance responsibilities, including preparation, implementation and monitoring of the annual budget and multi-annual business and financing plan;
• overseeing the internal control function:
  • bringing a systematic approach to implement, improve and evaluate the risk management, control system and governance processes at EIOPA;
  • providing the Executive Director and the Management Board with reasonable assurance as to the compliance, effectiveness and efficiency of processes and activities at EIOPA;
  • providing staff trainings, awareness sessions and advice on Internal Control standards;
  • supporting the work of and coordinating the cooperation with the Court of Auditors and Internal Audit Service of the European Commission, as well as with the other ESAs and the EU Audit Network;
• ensuring the security of EIOPA’s personnel, physical and information assets by
  • developing security related policies, procedures and working instructions;
  • enforcing security provisions concerning physical security and investigation of security breaches;
  • coordinating preventive measures as regards the safety of EIOPA Staff, EIOPA information, and EIOPA installations;
  • assessing risks with regard to physical security, the organisation and its personnel, including continuous monitoring;
  • managing the continuity of business operations and disaster recovery planning;
  • promoting security assessment and training.
• fostering and enhancing greening mindset and sustainability horizontally, through the entire EIOPA working structure.

The Corporate Support Department is composed of the Information Technology Unit, the Human Resources Unit, and the Finance, Procurement and Corporate Services Unit.

Under the responsibility of the Head of the Corporate Support Department and the oversight of a mentor, the trainee will be working on the following:

3.1 IT Project Management Support Profile

To support EIOPA’s project managers in their day-to-day activities and independently complete certain project tasks. The activities include:

• taking ownership of certain project deliverables and manage them end-to-end;
• supporting the drafting of business and technical requirements documentation;
• supporting user acceptance testing;
• supporting EIOPA project managers in taking minutes, writing reports, scheduling meetings, etc.

3.2 Human Resources Profile

• supporting the learning and development area in analysing the training needs and developing training proposals;
• supporting the implementation of EIOPA competencies per job family in all HR processes;
• supporting the analysis of HR trends at EIOPA based on available data;
• supporting the day-to-day work of the HR Unit, such as monitoring and follow up staff requests, preparing replies to staff requests, recruitment campaigns, etc.

3.3 Corporate Services Profile

• assisting with the coordination of meetings and events;
• preparing the relevant statistics and reports;
• supporting the day-to-day work of the Corporate Services team, such as monitoring the mailbox and responding to the inquiries/requests received etc.

3.4 Finance Profile

• participating in the budget planning, forecasting, monitoring and reporting exercise;
• supporting the day-to-day work of the budget and finance colleagues, such as writing reports, creating statistics, proof-reading documents etc.

3.5 Procurement Profile

• assisting with the conduct of market research and benchmarking for different procurements;
• analysing procurement documents, identifying potential pitfalls and proposing ways to improve services in the procurement area;
• supporting the day-to-day work of the procurement colleagues, such as monitoring and following the Procurement Inter Agency Network Platform regarding new and ongoing procurement opportunities etc.

3.6 Greening and Sustainability Profile

• planning, organising, executing and monitoring activities related to greening and sustainability actions;
• analysing environmental data;
• identifying critical issues and developing options for solution;
• monitoring the implementation of the decisions.

This profile is affiliated to the Office of Senior Management.

4) The Policy and Supervisory Convergence Department is responsible for planning and further promoting supervisory convergence through appropriate initiatives and tools, such as:

• developing and maintaining EIOPA's policy on insurance and pensions with regard to the prudential supervision;
• developing, maintaining and improving
  • advice to the European Commission on legislative measures;
  • draft technical standards for endorsement;
  • guidelines and guidance to promote convergent supervisory practices and consistent application of union law;
  • answers to questions on the regulatory framework;
  • maintaining up-to-date Rulebook on EIOPA’s website;
• keeping the supervisory review process fit-for-purpose as maintained in the handbooks for the insurance supervision under Solvency II and supervision of the IORPs sector, supervisory statements, opinions and others;
• monitoring and assessing the comply/or/explain procedure with the National Supervisory Authorities in the area of competence;
• contributing to global standard-setting for insurance and pensions, their implementation and implementation assessment,  coordinating the preparation of related advice across EIOPA and organising EIOPA's influence at all levels of the IAIS as well as in selected other international organisations;
• interacting with representatives of industry, policyholders and other stakeholders including (in close cooperation with the Corporate Affairs Department) through EIOPA's stakeholder groups, and engaging in regular regulatory dialogue meetings with non-EEA supervisors;
• developing an impact assessment methodology and providing Impact Assessment analysis and advice, both ex-ante and ex-post with a particular focus on the added value of regulation;
• prepare the assessment of the regulatory developments in third-countries where an equivalence decision needs to be adopted by the Commission;
• propose the issuing of no action letters in exceptional circumstances when EIOPA considers that the application of one of the legislative acts referred relevant to its mandate or of any delegated or implementing acts based on those acts is likely to raise significant issues;
• supporting the assessment of application of proportionality principle on EIOPA actions and measures, including the support of the Advisory Committee on Proportionality;
• managing EIOPA’s corporate planning and reporting processes (such as for the delivery of the AWP, SPD and Annual Activity Report), ensuring a coherent approach;
• coordinating corporate risk management as part of the EIOPA’s planning and evaluation processes.

The Policy Department is composed by the Horizontal Unit Sustainability, the Supervisory Convergence Unit (SCU), the Insurance Policy Team, the Pensions Team, the International Relations Team, and the Impact Assessment Team. 

4.1 Sustainability Profile (within the Horizontal Unit Sustainability)

Under the responsibility of the Head of Unit and oversight of a mentor, the trainee will be involved in activities regarding the continued development and implementation of EIOPA’s strategy in the area of sustainable finance, which aims to integrate sustainable finance considerations across all areas of work of the Authority:

•     Work on sustainability-related topics in areas such as the insurance prudential framework (Solvency II), the sustainability reporting framework (e.g the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)), aspects related to the NatCat insurance protection gap and the promotion of access to catastrophe models and data;
•     analysis of legal instruments in the field of sustainable finance, such as Directives, guidelines, opinions etc., comparisons and compilation of documents or comments, e.g. after a public consultation;
•      researching specific sustainability topics in the areas of insurance and/or occupational pensions, including international aspects such as carrying out comparative analyses of foreign regulatory regimes in the context of sustainable finance, and preparing notes for a variety of stakeholders;
•    supporting the preparation of conferences, meetings with external stakeholders (such as Roundtables), surveys including assessment summary.

4.2.a Supervisory Convergence Profile (within SCU)

Promote a common supervisory culture and consistent supervisory practices across the EU and EEA to ensure a high, effective and consistent level of supervision, safeguarding a similar level of protection to all European policyholders and beneficiaries. Depending on the preferences and skills of the trainee, the work will be on one or more of the following area:

• developing supervisory convergence tools (e.g. Supervisory statement, Opinion) on supervision of Solvency II framework;
• further developing work in the area of the Supervisory Review Process;
• reflecting lessons learned from Solvency II implementation and contributing to the Solvency II review in particular in the area implementation of proportionality;
• contributing to maintaining supervisory reporting fit for purpose for supervision.

4.2.b Peer Reviews Profile (within SCU)

Support the peer review of competent authorities process. Depending on the preferences and skills of the trainee, the work will be on one or more of the following area:

• supporting the whole process of peer reviews and follow-up peer reviews (e.g. administrative support, assessment and comparison of supervisory practices by NCAs, drafting reports or conducting follow up activities of peer reviews);
• supporting the review of the peer review methodology;
• supporting in collecting and analysing data such as questionnaires, comments or written feedback;
• improving the use of data visualisation such as graphics and tables.

4.3 Insurance Policy Profile

Under the responsibility of the Head of the Policy Department and oversight of a mentor, the trainee will be involved in the following activities:

• Analysis of legal instruments such as Directives, guidelines, opinions etc., comparisons and compilation of documents, e.g. after a public consultation;
• researching specific topics in the areas of insurance, pensions, international issues and carrying out comparative analyses of foreign regulatory regimes in the context of Solvency II, IORP II and International Capital Standards (may include banking standards), also in various languages, and preparing notes for a variety of stakeholders;
• analysing information for the use of different Policy Department reports, including stock exchange data, indices, statistics, academic research results, investment data;
• analysing data including market information and legal texts from different jurisdiction outside of the EU and drafting summary notes;
• creating/drafting insurance policy FAQ documents, for publication on EIOPA intranet site;
• supporting the preparation of conferences, meetings with external stakeholders (such as Roundtables), surveys including assessment summary.

4.4       4.4 Pension Team Profile

•         contributing to policy advice on personal and occupational pensions;
•     contributing to the development of guidance to promote convergent supervisory practices and consistent application of union law;
•    conducting analysis and desk-based research e.g. supervisory and statistical data, risk analysis, to inform the team’s policy, supervisory convergence and oversight activities 

4.5 International Relations Profile

• Supporting the Authority’s engagement with international organizations such as the IAIS and the OECD;
• enhancing our dialogues with important third countries, including the US, UK, Japan, Switzerland, and Bermuda;
• contributing to the Authority’s assessments of Equivalence and professional secrecy concerning third countries;
• assisting with any additional tasks as required.

5) The Risks & Financial Stability Department is responsible for:

• monitoring and analysis of risks affecting the micro-prudential supervision in the fields of insurance and pensions, both at national and European levels, in accordance with the mission statement and annual work programme of EIOPA;
• providing guidance for the monitoring and analysing sources of risk to financial stability in the EU, arising from the macroeconomic developments, financial markets and insurance undertakings as well as IORPs;
• steering the follow-up process on the analysis, e.g. development of recommendations, opinions or mitigating actions;
• updating EIOPA Chair and Executive Director, EIOPA MB and BoS on the potential build-up of risks and vulnerabilities as well as responsive measures;
• managing and ensuring the effective interaction between risk identification, reporting and management processes within EIOPA for the insurance and IORPs sectors;
• contributing to the efficient cooperation between EIOPA, ESMA, EBA and the ESRB as well as NCAs with regard to identification of risks that pose a threat to the EU financial stability.

The Risks and Financial Stability Department is composed of the Crisis Prevention Team, the Financial Stability Team, the Studies and Statistics Team and the Risk Assessments Team and the Data Analysis and Processes Unit (DAPU).

5.1 Risk and Financial Stability Profile:

Under the responsibility of the Head of the Risks and Financial Stability Department and the oversight of a mentor, the trainee will be involved in the following activities:

• contributing to thematic studies focused on financial stability and crisis management;
• supporting analysis of market developments and statistical data on insurance and occupational pensions;
• contribute to work related to recovery and resolution of insurance undertakings
• contributing to developing and implementing new analytical tools to support financial stability analysis and assessment;
• any other tasks as required.

In relation to data management, under the responsibility of the Head of the Risks and Financial Stability Department and the Head of the Data Analysis and Processes Unit (DAPU), the trainee will be involved in the following activities:

5.2 Data Mining and Machine Learning Profile (within DAPU)

Looking for Data scientists and data/algorithms lovers in general to support the development and design of data analysis tools for data quality and supervisory purposes (SupTech) using the European insurance and pensions databases. Depending on the preferences and skills of the trainee, the work will be on one or more of the following areas:

·       network analysis, especially on reinsurance networks;

·       outlier detection, pattern recognition;

·       time series analysis, predictive modelling, forecasting models.

EIOPA is mainly using R, Python and SAS for data mining and machine learning applications.

5.3 Business Intelligence and Data Analytics Profile  (within DAPU)

Looking for Data scientists and data/algorithms lovers in general to support the improvement of EIOPA’s Business Intelligence and Data Analytics framework. Depending on the preferences and skills of the trainee, the work will be on one or more of the following areas:

·       Data collection, management and dissemination;

•      improving data quality in liaison with national competent authorities;
•          enhancing business intelligence tools’ efficiency and functionality;
•      data governance.

EIOPA is mainly using Power BI, SQL, Python, R, Matlab and SAS for data mining and machine learning applications.

6) The Oversight Department  is responsible for:

• engaging with National Supervisory Authorities via visits to NCAs and participation to colleges of supervisors to monitor and challenge the application of Solvency II or IORP II and provide them with feedback and technical support to develop high-quality supervisory outcomes and the implementation of a common supervisory culture;
• supporting the National Authorities via ad hoc national projects, such as Balance Sheet Review and stress tests;
• coordinating joint supervisory responses to cross-border challenges through cooperation platforms and proto-colleges;
• running consistency projects in the area of Internal Models and follow-up on supervisory recommendations.

6.1 Internal Models Profile

The Internal Models Team is responsible for fostering quality, consistency and efficiency in the implementation of Solvency II internal models provisions, by:

·       establishing and running projects to assess and improve consistency, e.g. consistency studies;

·       visiting and engaging with National Supervisory Authorities to better understand, monitor and providing feedback on their internal models supervisory approach, as well as to provide technical support to develop high-quality supervisory outcomes;

·       promoting the sharing of good practice and sound application of the rules by engaging with technical experts in National Supervisory Authorities;

·       participating in joint on-site inspections, visiting National Supervisory Authorities, as well as participating in Colleges of Supervisors where internal model issues are discussed;

·       providing technical assistance upon request by NCAs on model changes and new model approvals.

6.2 Digital Operational Resilience Profile (within SCU)

Candidates with interest on cyber security, cyber threats and managing cyber risk in general to support the implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) by the NCAs, in particular the requirements applicable to financial entities. The work will be on one or more of the following area:

• contributing to the supervisory convergence regarding supervision of DORA;
• contributing to the implementation of the EU Systemic Cyber Incident Coordination Framework;
• contributing to the implementation of the EIOPA Cyber Underwriting Strategy by further understanding the role of Cyber Underwriting as a cyber risk mitigant and support the further development of such market (in cooperation with other Departments).