Incubation/Finance Internship - Filene Research Institute - Madison, WI

Organization Description

Filene Research Institute exists to help credit unions empower people to achieve financial wellness. We are an independent, consumer finance think-and-do tank dedicated to changing people’s lives through ideas, truth and cooperation. We aim to create change through insightful research, novel ideas, and rigorous experimentation to make real and lasting impact in people’s lives.

We live by the famous words of our namesake, credit union and retail pioneer Edward A. Filene: "Progress is the constant replacing of the best there is with something still better." Together, Filene and our thousands of supporters seek progress for credit unions by turning questions into research, research into ideas, and ideas into action. Filene is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Our membership of nearly 1,000 credit unions makes our research, innovation, and impact programs possible.

Role

Incubation Intern

Job Location

Hybrid based out of the Madison, WI office or Fully Remote

Start Date

Flexible – Start summer of 2023 at full-time and extend through the academic year until May 2024 at part-time.

Position Overview

The Intern will work with the Incubation team, supporting research and pilot initiatives that explore solutions to pressing challenges facing credit unions and their communities. The Intern will have a unique opportunity to learn about the credit union system, its position in the consumer finance industry, and its potential to make a positive impact. Filene plays an important role in the ecosystem, leveraging research, innovation, and business partnerships to reimagine consumer financial well-being, transform cooperative finance, and make a difference in people’s lives.

Reporting to the Incubation Manager, the Intern will work closely with the Incubator team to support the execution of innovation pilots with credit unions in Filene’s membership. Specifically, the intern will be responsible for conducting landscape research on emerging credit union challenges or solutions, developing reports and deliverables, supporting relationship management activities, and managing team administrative duties. The Intern’s time will be divided across a range of projects and require effective time management and organizational skills to guide a fast-paced research output. In addition, the Intern is expected to work collaboratively with the Research team, external stakeholders, and other partners as well as independently.

Job Responsibilities

The Incubation Intern will:

• Function as project manager and executor with responsibility for supporting incubation outputs across a number of content areas including consumer financial well-being, credit union growth strategies, and emerging technologies.

• Support the development and execution of innovation pilots at partner credit unions by managing ongoing communication, documenting findings, and maintaining administrative processes.

• Work with the research and incubation teams to conduct supporting research and developing compelling research outputs and ancillary products (slide decks, workshop guides, etc.).

• Learn about consumer and cooperative finance and practice the basics of research in financial services.

• Assist with a variety of other projects and tasks that help Filene advance credit unions’ understanding of consumer finance.

• Effectively maintain data and physical and electronic storage for applicable materials (research outputs, files, product samples, project folders, etc.).

• Own select team administrative duties to help maintain organization and project management (e.g., notetaking, agenda management).

The statements above are not intended to be all-inclusive and other duties will be assigned as needed.

Job Requirements

The Incubation Intern must be a current and active university student: Junior, Senior, or Graduate-level. The Intern must also demonstrate:

• The ability to learn and embody Filene’s vision and mission and the values of cooperative finance.

• Self-motivation and autonomy as well as collaboration.

• The ability to prioritize work assignments and multi-task in a fast-paced, start-up environment.

• The ability to work effectively with the Filene team, credit unions, and consumer finance partners.

• Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills, including the ability to summarize ideas clearly and write strong copy.

• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills. Data analytics skills a plus.

• Process and project management skills along with the ability to identify and execute improvements as needed.

• Attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.

• Ability to manage workload to aggressive deadlines.

• Ability to be flexible in duties.

• Ability to work with Mac technology and Microsoft Office.

Basic knowledge of financial services and/or project management and prior experience with quantitative and/or qualitative market-facing research are helpful.