PanEuropeanSeal YP in Economics & Finance

The following units are offering positions within the Young Professionals Programme 2026–2027. Explore the opportunities and select your preferred units during the application process: 


Administration of the Reserve Funds – Administration and Operations 
Mission & Impact
The Principal Directorate Administration of the Reserve Funds contributes to the long-term financial stability of the European Patent Organisation by handling the investment activities related to the Reserve Funds for Pensions and Social Security (RFPSS). The assets of the RFPSS are invested in a broad range of liquid asset classes with a focus on equities and fixed income. In view of the size of the Reserve Funds, currently valued at nearly EUR 15bn, the results achieved by the Fund Administration are of vital importance for the financial health of the Organisation.
What will the Young Professional do?
You will be an integral part of the Administration and Operations department and deliver investment operations to the highest standards. You will:
•    Control and administrate data relating to the investment activity of the RFPSS (including master data, broker information, settlement instructions, corporate actions, dividends and other income, and securities lending) in cooperation with the portfolio management team, external managers, the accounting team and the custodian bank
•    Liaise with banks, brokers and other financial institutions regarding execution and settlement of transactions carried out by the portfolio managers on behalf of the RFPSS
•    Analyse and advise on complex and non-standard cases in investment operations
Ideal educational background
Finance or economics; accounting
Must-have skills and requirements
Diploma of completed studies at Bachelor's level, knowledge of financial instruments (Bonds, equities, ETF, funds) and their lifecycle, strong interpersonal and communication skills in English (spoken and written).
Nice-to-have requirements
Basic knowledge of SQL an Excel macro, knowledge of German.

Chief Economic Unit / Patent Analytics
Mission & Impact
The Patent Analytics team as part of the Chief Economist Unit is responsible inter alia for the preparation of reports, data-driven tools and services, case studies analysing technology trends, and the commercialisation of new technologies. The work of the unit, carried out in close collaboration with the EPO Observatory, is strongly data-driven but also involves transforming the results into digestible graphical information, visualisation and textual content.
What will the Young Professional do?
You will be involved in various activities of the Patent Analytics department, as well as selected projects with other units of the EPO Observatory, including:
•    Support the data preparation, statistical analyses
•    Develop Jupyter notebooks in TIP to support users in using PATSTAT and other related data
•    Create visualisations for complex data
•    Create reports and dashboards combining patent data and other data
•    Support the administration of the various activities in the team
Ideal educational background
The candidate is expected to have: a degree (or equivalent) in science, engineering or economics, a solid background in quantitative and statistical methodologies (statistics, econometrics) Experience in data analytics and statistics.
Must-have skills and requirements
Experience with Python, SQL and data visualisations.
Nice-to-have requirements
Knowledge and experience with PATSTAT and the Technology Intelligence Platform (TIP) would be a plus.

Finance Centre of Excellence
Mission & Impact
The Finance Centre of Excellence is supporting the Finance/Procurement department for all activities related to continuous improvement of Process and organisation and data quality improvement.
What will the Young Professional do?
This is an opportunity to gain hands-on exposure to Finance process in a mature, post-transformation environment within an international organisation. The role offers exposure to modern, integrated Finance systems (SAP S/4HANA, SAC, Ivalua) and to a structured, governance-driven operating environment. You will:
•    Support the reinforcement of Finance data analytics and reporting capabilities through the migration from Tableau to Power BI, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across finance and procurement processes
•    Be involved in migration and optimisation of finance dashboards and reports from Tableau to Power BI
•    Support the internalisation, documentation and standardisation of Power BI competencies within Finance
•    Support continuous improvement of finance and procurement processes in cooperation with business analysts and operational teams, leveraging SAP S/4HANA, SAC and Ivalua
•    Support data quality, consistency and automation initiatives across finance reporting
•    Contribute to knowledge sharing and best practices within the Finance analytics and business analyst community
Ideal educational background
Master level in one of the following: Finance, economics, business administration, process engineering, IT (data science and modelling)
Must-have skills and requirements
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment, very good analytical and conceptual skills with a focus on problem solving and results, strong planning and organisational skills with attention to detail, ability to manage multiple tasks, proactive and service-oriented mindset, high motivation, flexibility and willingness to learn, advanced command of English, very good knowledge of MS Office, ability to build clear executive-level presentations, experience in an international environment is an asset.
Nice-to-have requirements
Ability to analyse information and understand underlying issues, capacity to make sound judgements, interest in the broader organisational context, high learning agility, basic knowledge of finance processes such as budgeting, forecasting or accounting, experience in project-based or improvement initiatives, internship or exposure to consulting, familiarity with Power BI, SAP or Ivalua, ability to work at the interface between business, data and systems, exposure to data analytics or reporting tools.

Portfolio Management and Project Office
Mission & Impact
The nature of the business of Principal Directorate General Administration requires a local focus thereby creating the need for harmonisation and central coordination. Directorate Planning and its team Portfolio Management and Project Office is therefore providing support to PD General Administration units in all areas that need transversal harmonisation including managing the building project portfolio process to effectively and sustainably prioritize building works, overseeing budget planning, execution, cost control, and reporting to top management, as well as coordinating the financial control and reporting of all Principal Directorate’s projects. 
What will the Young Professional do?
Track the financial values of the Principal Directorate General Administration’s projects:
•    Take ownership of the financial file allow budgeting and tracking of project expenses and ensure alignment with actuals found in SAC
•    Further improve the financial file to incorporate the projects of the Building Investment Programme
•    Improve the quality of the file to ensure efficient processing of data and ensure extraction and consolidation of business relevant information
Maintain and improve the overall Project reporting dashboard
•    Improve the overall project reporting dashboard to present the most relevant information for management
•    Update independently the project dashboard based on the reports of the project managers
•    Present the overall project status in the board meeting
Support the Principal Directorate General Administration’s weekly board meetings
•    Set up the weekly agenda based on the requests from different stakeholders and assessment of the Log itself
•    Draft the meeting minutes and action list independently
•    Provide ad hoc support to ensure smooth organisation of the board meetings
Ideal educational background
Economics or econometrics; mathematics, statistics or data science; engineering with strong analytical interest. Interdisciplinary profiles are welcome.
Must-have skills and requirements
The Young Professional is expected to demonstrate the ability to work autonomously. Proficiency in handling numerical data and converting large volumes of information into valuable insights is essential. Further competencies and skills: eye for detail & analytical skills, team worker with communication skills, self-motivated and feeling responsible, experience in (building) project and portfolio management would be an advantage
Nice-to-have requirements
Proficiency in data analysis tools, basic knowledge in service management and related tools.

Principal Directorate Welfare and Remuneration 
Mission & Impact 
We offer a wide range of compensation and benefits measures to its staff, pensioners, and families, covering more than 23000 people. We act like a State to provide the frame of sustainable social security, pensions, allowances, and remuneration schemes. This role is paramount for a self-financed organisation which generates its own revenues and must provide the best and fairest packages to our staff, while caring for past and future generations of EPO’s employees. To ensure the competitiveness of the package it offers to its staff and propose evidence-based measures to decision makers the EPO must rely on a set of strong social data and analysis, regularly conduct benchmarks as well as internal and external studies. 
What will the Young Professional do? 
You will report to and work directly with the Principal Director. You will have the possibility to:  
•    Support and participate in studies and projects regarding the field of expertise mentioned under our missions, collect relevant data, prepare benchmark analysis 
•    Prepare briefing, presentations for senior management  
•    Prepare communique and presentations to all staff 
•    Support the principal director in the monitoring of the pipeline of projects 
Ideal educational background 
A strong academic background in fields such as economics, statistics, data science/analytics, actuarial science, human resources, finance, compensation and benefits, or public/social administration 
Must-have skills and requirements 
Excellent command of English and (written and oral) clear and structured communication skills, strong interest in economic and sociological issues as well as human resources management, ability to work with data, and turn technical input into actionable data for decision-making-process, strong organisational skills, open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, teamwork 
Nice-to-have requirements 
Public policy insights, ability to work with and collect data (data visualisation tools), French and/or German as additional language 


Procurement Planning and Tendering
Mission & Impact
The Procurement Planning and Tendering team leads and executes formal procurement procedures to secure the goods and services essential for the EPO’s business continuity. By ensuring strict compliance with financial and procurement regulations, driving timely and strategic sourcing, strengthening contract and supplier management, improving efficiency through Office wide coordination, and contributing to key Finance 360° digitalisation projects, the team delivers transparent, efficient and future ready procurement that supports the EPO’s long term operational resilience and strategic objectives.
What will the Young Professional do?
•    Support market and supplier research by collecting information and assisting senior colleagues, gradually learning how market insights shape procurement strategies
•    Assist in reviewing losing bids and procurement communication patterns, progressively developing an understanding of EPO procurement practice and supplier dynamics
•    Learn the fundamentals of end‑to‑end tendering by supporting simple tasks in iValua and observing contract preparation and negotiation steps under close guidance
•    Help compile, organise and perform initial reviews of contract‑related data, building foundational analytical skills through supervised participation in evaluations and performance assessments
•    Contribute to procurement digitalisation efforts by assisting with introductory tasks related to the Finance 360 initiatives, including familiarisation with the Procurement Plan and Strategic Sourcing tool
Ideal educational background
Economics, finance & business administration, procurement, engineering, supply chain with strong knowledge/interest in data analytics, product management, contract management, public procurement, MS Office, Ivalua.
Must-have skills and requirements
Ability to learn and apply analytical thinking when supporting reviews of bids, contract data and supplier information under guidance, curiosity and willingness to understand procurement processes and progressively take on simple tendering‑related tasks using digital tools, good organisational habits and attention to detail to manage basic steps of procurement workflows while following established procedures, motivation to develop skills in procurement digitalisation and engage with introductory tasks related to Finance 360 initiatives, collaborative mindset and openness to working with multiple stakeholders while learning standard practices and team processes.
Nice-to-have requirements
Initial exposure to procurement, supplier markets or public‑sector tendering through studies, internships or project work, basic familiarity with digital tools (e.g, excel, SAP, dashboards or procurement platforms) that can support early learning, experience working with data in an academic or practical setting, such as summarising information or creating simple visuals, interest in digitalisation, automation or improving processes, especially in operational or procurement environments, comfortable learning from and interacting with diverse colleagues and gradually contributing to cross‑functional activities.

Purchasing
Mission & Impact
Central Procurement is a professional, value-adding partner to its stakeholders for all matters related to suppliers, markets, competition, tenders, contract performance and spend, thereby greatly contributing to the initiatives of the Strategic Plan 2028 related to sustainability, process effectiveness, efficiency and transparency. The goal of the Purchasing team within Central Procurement is to deliver operational excellence of the source-to-pay process.
What will the Young Professional do?
•    Source-to-pay operations including sourcing events using the eProcurement platform
•    Support of Purchasing department to further progress with providing value add services to the stakeholders
•    Dedicated contributions for ongoing projects related to further enhancement of the Ivalua based procurement process
•    Data analysis and reporting to establish KPIs for operational procurement
Ideal educational background
Economics & business administration, procurement, supply chain management
Must-have skills and requirements
Knowledge of Source to Pay process, MS Office, project management, strong process orientation, fluent in English in speaking and writing
Nice-to-have requirements
Ivalua or similar portal solutions, public procurement, contract management, knowledge of German

Revenue Controls
Mission & Impact
The Revenue and Controls department is responsible for setting up interim and annual financial statements according to IFRS and treasury management. Revenue and Controls team also delivers continuous improvements and is involved in multiple projects to optimise accounting processes, workflows and systems. 
What will the Young Professional do?
As part of the ongoing transformation process in Finance to support long-term financial sustainability, you will:
•    Analyse, and propose automation and simplification of accounting processes
•    Improve monthly and year-end financial reporting, financial and cash-flow statements
•    Test and support organisation wide change management
•    Develop an action plan for the implementation of IFRS sustainability reporting
Ideal educational background
Preferably a Master’s degree in business administration, accounting, or finance (preferably with focus on accounting or IFRS), experience in IFRS is an advantage
Must-have skills and requirements
Project management experience or qualifications, advanced communication skills with ability to present results in a concise and clear manner, analytical skills and hands-on mentality, pro-active self-starter with experience of working independently as well as in a team, proficiency in the use of MS Office tools, advanced knowledge of English.
Nice-to-have requirements
Work experience in a finance or accounting function is an advantage, SAP knowledge desirable, experience of studying or working in an international environment.