Graduate Student Intern

King County’s Finance and Business Operations Division's, Business Development and Contract Compliance (BDCC) section is seeking Graduate Interns!

We are seeking THREE graduate interns who are action-oriented, eager to try new things, and have a drive for results. These opportunities will provide personal development and exposure to various aspects of public sector finance and business operations while in partnership with seasoned staff mentors.

These positions are expected to begin in May or June and will continue through the 2025/2026 academic year. Interns must be enrolled in a Graduate (Master’s) program for the full duration of the internship and may be asked to provide proof of enrollment at any time. Typically, interns work part-time (10-20 hours per week) during the academic term and may work full-time (40 hours per week) during the summer and school breaks.

GRADUATE INTERN 1- Pro-Equity Contracting

Our Pro-Equity Contract team is seeking candidates for an internship who are enthusiastic and excited about working with contract compliance specialists and others to complete special projects to review and analyze business data for contract compliance. The scope of work may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Maintain electronic records and organize files: Assist in updating standard operating procedures for BDCC team members.
• Create correspondence for contract compliance: Proactively seek missing or supplemental information to ensure adherence to contract requirements.
• Engage in community outreach: Participate in events, develop training materials for internal county agencies and external partners, and support community engagement efforts to promote King County Opportunities Programs, aiming to increase small business participation.

GRADUATE INTERN 2- Lean Continuous Improvement

We are seeking one Graduate intern who is action-oriented, eager to explore an array of responsibilities within the Business Development and Contract Compliance section and has a drive for results. These opportunities will provide personal development and exposure to various aspects of public sector finance and business operations while in partnership with seasoned staff mentors.

This internship will support the section’s investment in and development of Lean culture throughout the division. This role will have a direct impact on the work across the section to achieve process improvement results that will benefit the team and its customers.

• Maintain and update standard work to be relevant, timely, and helpful for BDCC team members.
• Analyzes website utilization, content, and customer needs and develops strategies to improve outcomes.
• Create materials to educate and inform the section about Lean culture, thinking, practices, events, etc., through various modes.
• Collaborates with BDCC manager and supervisors to create and execute a plan to maintain a stream of section Lean continuous improvement success stories to motivate, engage, and inspire the team.
• Review the section’s catalog of ideas, including creating an online inventory of team ideas for BDCC’s continuous improvement efforts.

GRADUATE INTERN 3- Workforce Development

This internship will deliver outstanding customer service in working with county project managers, contractors, and others to support contract monitoring and compliance activities for county construction projects administered via the Apprenticeship and Priority Hire programs in the Business Development and Contract Compliance Section. Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel is necessary.

• Perform routine system administration and documentation. Participate in gathering data and preparing reports.
• Update standard work processes and operating procedures.
• Communicate routinely with customers; provide information and assistance on routine questions involving system processes and procedures to navigate an online reporting database for contractors.
• Update standard queries following established procedures. Develop routine reports, document tables, and data used in the preparation of reports and queries.
• Participate in process improvements as a team member supporting reporting systems. Work in partnership with experienced functional analysts to test system interfaces and enhancements.
• Review Monthly Priority Hire and Apprenticeship Summary Reports to identify contracts that indicate low attainment towards establish goals/requirements for action by BDCC staff on the Workforce Development Team.

Minimum Qualifications

• Have a passion for equity and social justice.
• Maintain statistics and metrics to support continuous process improvements.
• Are learners and eager to try new things and enjoy working in a collaborative team
• Question the status quo and who is willing to create new processes.
• Have an interest in a public sector career or business-related field
• Should be inquisitive in nature and willing to speak up and share ideas during team meetings
• Strong communication, interpersonal, writing, and customer service skills
• Intermediate level of technology proficiency using MS Office Productivity tools in your daily work
• Ability to manage your time and adapt to changing priorities, work on multiple priorities and projects simultaneously, meet quick deadlines, and produce timely and quality work products.
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

We would love it if you had:

• Demonstrated completion of study in project management.
• Demonstrated completion and delivery of projects.
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience with LEAN processes and principles.
• Experience with SharePoint, MS Teams, and other collaborative online tools.

Position Information:

• Work Site Details: The work associated with this position will primarily be hybrid. FBOD employees are currently required to work two assigned days a week in the Seattle office. In office requirements may change as required by King County business needs.
• Location Requirement: Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
• Work Schedule: During the academic term, the work week will consist of 10-20 hours. During summer and other school breaks, the work week will consist of 40 hours. This position is Non-Exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and therefore is overtime eligible. Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule, every other Thursday.

Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop. When working remotely employees must maintain a workspace with an internet connection (access may be supplemented in some situations) where they can reliably perform work, remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours, and follow FBOD’s Hybrid and Remote Guidelines including on-camera participation during virtual video meetings. King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely.