King W. Harris Summer Internship - Metropolitan Planning Council (Chicago)

Who: For more than 80 years, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) has made the Chicago region a better place to live and work by partnering with businesses, communities and governments to address the area's toughest planning and development challenges. MPC works to solve today's urgent problems while consistently thinking ahead to prepare the region for the needs of tomorrow.
MPC is seeking talented candidates for our King W. Harris Summer Internship, named in honor of MPC’s former Board Chair and current Senior Fellow for Housing.

What: 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;
• Research topical items to inform MPC’s stance on issues such as rent control, Tax Increment Financing districts and accessory dwelling units;
• 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;
• Support execution of MPC’s corridor development initiative through analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, assisting with content development and coordination of external meetings 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.

The Internship is 40 hours per week for a 3-month period from approximately June to August 2019. The intern will receive a stipend of $7,500 for this position.

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 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.

To apply for the King W. Harris Internship, the applicant must submit the following materials, by email, by April 15, 2019:

1. A cover letter that articulates specific interest in MPC and its housing and community development agenda, how this Internship will position the applicant for professional growth; 
2. A current résumé; 
3. A writing sample (1-2 pages); 
4. Three professional references; and 
5. (Optional) any other supporting evidence as the applicant sees fit (e.g. evidence of quantitative analysis, application of community development tools, GIS work, renderings, articles, etc.). 

Please send application materials by e-mail to Skyler Larrimore, Director of Operations and Strategy, at manager@metroplanning.org. No phone calls please.