King W. Harris Summer Intern – Metropolitan Planning Council

Who: Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago.

What: MPC is seeking talented candidates for our inaugural King W. Harris Summer Internship, named in honor of MPC’s former Board Chair and current Senior Fellow for Housing. The ideal candidate will have the research skills, relevant topical knowledge and organizational acumen to advance multiple MPC Housing and Community Development priorities. The paid summer intern will work directly with staff at all levels of the organization, external partners, Board members and MPC Research Assistants. This high-caliber career development opportunity will help one emerging professional build a career in urban planning or policy. The summer intern can cite the distinction of the internship on their MPC blog posts, publications and their professional résumé.  This intern will assist with the following projects:
• Conduct research and engage community-based and regional stakeholders in the development of a community impact assessment tool. This tool will help communities better understand the impact of new development on key areas of community concern, such as housing affordability and small business vitality, and to help manage neighborhood change more equitably;
• Help with research and programming for MPC’s anti-displacement work. This will include identifying and writing about best practices and case studies from across the country, as well as helping to facilitate collaboration among regional partners to develop and advance anti-displacement priorities in Chicagoland;
• Assist MPC’s Communications team in shaping the organization’s overall communications strategy and creating content to advance MPC’s housing and community development agenda. This will include contributing to the organization’s blog and social media platforms, amplifying outreach efforts, and helping capture stories and topics relevant to this work; and
• Support MPC’s Research team in gathering and analyzing data to assess the affordability, flood risk, proximity to transit and other characteristics of housing in the Chicago region and its peer regions. 

Qualifications: MPC seeks an organized, high-energy individual who thrives in a collegial work environment and can juggle multiple deadlines at once. Ideal candidates will have a background in ArcGIS mapping, research, data analysis and community outreach/engagement. Preferred candidates will have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in urban/regional planning, policy, urban studies, political science or another related field, and/or relevant volunteer or professional experiences.

Schedule and Compensation: The Internship is 40 hours per week for a 3-month period from approximately June to August 2018. The intern will receive a stipend (without health benefits) for this position.

Find the full job posting and application information here.