Institute of Politics

About the Organization: Founded in 2013 by David Axelrod, the Institute of Politics, a non-partisan, extracurricular organization at the University of Chicago, aims to inspire and cultivate the next generation of political and public service leaders. Four core programs create the heart of the Institute: civic engagement opportunities that enable students to experience politics-in-action through political exploration trips, leadership training, service programs and voter engagement projects; visiting fellowships where distinguished political officials, policymakers, journalists, diplomats and others are in residence on campus during an academic quarter; political and public service internships that provide students with paid, substantive career development opportunities; and a continuous series of public events featuring leading political figures sharing their insights on key issues of the day.

Internship Description: The Career Development Data Engineering Intern will work closely with the Career Development team to give students 300+ annual substantial experiences in public service. This intern will work on our summer, academic year, ad hoc, and external internship portfolios, including coming up with innovative ways to track and analyze our internship data and to streamline processes through automation and good data practices. The role consists of designing scripts and formulas within Google Sheets as well as other directed and creative data-oriented tasks. Applicants should send in a resume and cover letter, speaking to their ability to manage and organize large volumes of information. While we respect and appreciate experience with technically complex data modeling systems, we mostly stick to the Google Suite, Outlook, Neon CRM (as opposed to R, Stata, and the like).

During spring quarter of 2026, the incoming intern may be trained and onboarded by the current (outgoing) intern and current staff for 10+ hours. The internship will then begin in a full-hours capacity in the fall of 2026 and continue through the end of spring quarter (June 2027). Selected interns will be required to attend mandatory training and onboarding sessions in late September with the rest of the house intern cohort.

Responsibilities:

• Manage our summer and academic year internship databases in Google Workspace. Create a streamlined display of data for internal team use, including dashboards, widgets, and inter-spreadsheet formulaic relationships. This intern will work with the team to identify questions and provide easily digestible data-based answers.
• Validate and standardize data.
• Move data that is collected through forms to our database environments in an automated or semi-automated workflow.
• Manage mass targeted, customizable communications with our employer partners, interns, student applicants, and prospective employers through Google scripts, aliasing, and/or other creative solutions. Data points are created and housed in Google Workspace and communications go out from a departmental Outlook account. Data must be uploaded to IOP Customer Relationship Management software, Neon, at least once per quarter.
• Daily/weekly management of our internship hub (managed through Google Workspace and website host, Firebelly).
• Intern will complete assigned data tasks and manage priorities in project management software Asana. As the intern becomes familiar with IOP CD work, the intern will take initiative in pinpointing and executing on projects that they have deemed necessary.
• Organize historic internship data and alumni data.
• Other tasks as needed and assigned.

Qualifications: Intern should be interested in developing unique data solutions for a fast-paced, dynamic team as we facilitate hands-on public service opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at University of Chicago. This position is perfect for a student who enjoys breaking down complex systems, developing streamlined systems, and using technology to create easier user experiences.

This intern will be a scrappy, creative thought partner to our full time and student staff members. Intern will quickly come to understand the scope of our work and will understand our data environment as it exists in its current state, executing on current workflows and thinking about improvements term to term.

• The candidate should be very comfortable with the Google Workspace environment, including an ability to creatively problem solve, write scripts, find scripts, and learn on the fly.
• The intern will be able to manage their own workflow and collaborate well with a team of undergraduate and graduate interns. Intern will report on daily tasks within Asana and will deliver a weekly report to the team during an all hands meeting.
• Experience with data analysis and coding in google suites platform.
• Experience with website design or user experience preferred but not required.
• Desire to acquire new skills, learn quickly, solve problems, and participate in the work of the IOP as a team player.
• General involvement and familiarity with the IOP preferred but not required

Application Materials:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

Hours: 16-20 hours/week (16 hours minimum)

Compensation: $16.60/hour (undergraduate); $20/hour (graduate)