Intern – Life Sciences/Policy practice

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates is a leading global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and business management expertise to major law firms, corporations and governments around the world. CRA advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings, and guides corporations through critical business strategy and performance-related issues. Since 1965, clients have engaged CRA for its combination of industry experience and rigorous, fact-based analysis that provide clients with clear, implementable solutions to complex business concerns.

Position Overview

CRA’s Life Sciences Practice helps pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices and digital health companies achieve optimum performance across key aspects of their business including commercial strategy, pricing and access, innovation, organisation structure, policy analysis, medical affairs, stakeholder management, and reputation, all for the long-term benefit of patients, clinicians, employees, and shareholders. We work with life sciences businesses directly as well as with their legal counsel, industry associations, government organisations, and advocacy groups.

Our dedicated Policy team works with Life Sciences companies, industry associations, government organizations, and advocacy groups to anticipate and respond to policy challenges. Our projects focus on analysing ongoing or anticipated policy challenges, assessing the impact on patients, competition or innovation, and helping clients with developing solutions that address these challenges whilst supporting their commercial priorities.

The CRA Life Sciences team operates from offices across the United States and Europe to provide insights on global issues and local market challenges, allowing ease of access for our clients.

Joining the Life Sciences Practice at CRA over the summer will provide you with a unique opportunity to develop your knowledge of healthcare globally.  Our Summer Analyst Internship program is meant to mirror the analyst experience to give you a greater understanding of our business and the type of work that is done at Charles River Associates.

Interns arecurious and analytical thinkers who bring creative approaches to non-standard problems. They will be a part of an integrated team that executes and delivers across a wide variety of consulting projects. Typical responsibilities may include:

• Work closely with senior colleagues to deliver strategy and/or policy and economic consulting projects that address specific client needs;
• Support independent research to identify, collect, manage and analyse qualitative insights and quantitative data;
• Contribute to internal discussions that build insights from the analytical process and integrating findings into broader project deliverables;
• Participate in telephone or face-to-face interviews with clients or external stakeholders;
• Generate sections of client reports, presentations and other client deliverables (e.g. Excel workbooks) under the supervision of senior team members;
• Proactively develop knowledge of the life sciences industry as well as consulting methodologies;
• Participate in practice-building activities (training, expertise sharing, etc.).

Desired Qualifications

• Penultimate year Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree candidates with strong academic performance from a top-tier institution (minimum 2:1) with focused study in economics (or related subjects including business, health economics and policy, public policy), biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, engineering, or another quantitative discipline;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel), plus an understanding of how to conduct internet research – experience with statistical software such as Stata and SAS helpful;
• Experience with, or keen interest in, Life Sciences policy and healthcare;
• Understanding of economic concepts and business processes, as well as familiarity with essential consulting methodologies, tools and techniques is very helpful;
• Effective written communication and oral presentation English skills (additional languages helpful);
• Strong self-management (detail orientation, effective time management, ability to prioritise);
• Demonstrated high level of initiative and leadership;
• Excellent teamwork and collaboration capabilities;
• Clear and demonstrated interest in consulting through coursework, work experience, activities, or attendance at CRA recruiting events;
• CRA is proud of our ability to manage work/life balance; some client travel is inevitable, however, so willingness and ability to undertake periodic travel to clients is necessary.

To Apply

We run a rolling recruitment process and will close applications once the positions are filled, so early application is advised. To be considered for this position, submit the following items:

• Resume – please include current address, personal email and telephone number;
• Covering letter – please describe your interest in CRA and how this role matches your goals. Also, please note if you have a particular location preference (Cambridge or London).

The internship will commence in June 2025.

Professional Development 

CRA’s robust skills development programs and wellness programming encourage you to thrive as an individual and team member. We provide interns a variety of technical training, presentation skills, internal seminars, and performance coaching over the summer.

Work Location Flexibility

CRA creates a work environment that enables our colleagues to benefit from being together in the office to best deliver on our promise of career growth, mentorship and inclusivity. At the same time, we recognise that individuals realise a range of benefits when working from home periodically. We currently ask that individuals spend 3 to 4 days a week on average working in the office (which may include traveling to another CRA office or to a client’s location), with specific days determined in coordination with your practice or team. At certain times of the year (e.g. holiday periods), additional remote work options are offered to those whose work commitments permit it, although our offices remain open for those who choose or need to be there.

Our Commitment to Diversity

Charles River Associates is an equal opportunity employer (Equality Act 2010). As part of our focus on equity and inclusion, we work to ensure a fair and consistent hiring process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.

The statements included in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job.  They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.