Knowledge, Records and Information Management Intern

Job Description

NOTE: To ensure a fair and equitable recruitment process, our Foundation Staff and Board do not host preliminary conversations with applicants outside of our standard interview process.

Position: Knowledge, Records and Information Management (KRIM) Intern - Summer 2027

Reports to: Director, Knowledge, Records and Information Management

Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid)

Duration: June 8 - August 11, 2027

Compensation: Paid Internship (Hourly rates will start at $22.00/hour)

About the Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the nation’s largest independent foundations. The Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur invests in solving some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including advancing global climate solutions, promoting local justice reform in the U.S., revitalizing local news, expanding who creates, uses, and benefits from artificial intelligence, and strengthening the well-being of Native communities. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program and the global 100&Change competition, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsive democracy as well as the vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago. The Foundation also maintains offices in Nigeria and India.

About Knowledge, Records and Information Management

The Knowledge, Records and Information Management (KRIM) team helps the Foundation keep track of what it knows. We manage the Foundation's records and archives, run its intranet and library, support the research needs of staff, and lead the policies that determine how information is created, stored, found, protected and eventually disposed of. The team sits within Core Services and works with every department at the Foundation.

About the Internship
The Knowledge, Records and Information Management (KRIM) intern will support KRIM's ongoing work to assess the Foundation's information and records landscape, contributing to a specific project to be defined based on need and opportunity at the time the internship begins. Potential intern projects in this space might include archival review, system assessment, and building tools to make institutional information easier to find and use.

Responsibilities may include:

• Contribute to a defined project within KRIM's current priorities, to be scoped in the weeks prior to internship start based on the Foundation's needs.
• Support discovery and assessment work related to Foundation records, information systems, or knowledge management practices, as guided by the Director.
• Apply careful, methodical review to assigned materials, documenting findings clearly for KRIM and other Foundation stakeholders (e.g., Legal, IT, Program Staff, etc.).
• Document the methodology used and present findings to the KRIM team and at the Foundation's summer intern capstone.
• Support other KRIM activities as time and interest allow, including the Foundation's intranet, knowledge capture activities, library catalog and research services, records retention, and research on practices at peer foundations.

Qualifications

We are looking for someone who is curious about how institutions decide what to remember. Prior archival or records experience is highly encouraged but not required. Interested candidates should be:

• Currently enrolled in a graduate program (e.g., library and information science, archives, history, museum studies, information management, etc.) and returning to school following the internship.

• Careful and methodical, with sound judgment and discretion with confidential and sensitive information, and strong aptitude for clear written communication.

• Comfortable working with Microsoft Excel; familiarity with Microsoft Access or similar relational database tools is a plus, as some potential projects may involve navigating legacy databases.

• Comfortable handling physical materials, including lifting and moving record boxes and working in storage areas.

This internship is based in Chicago, Illinois. Our work environment is hybrid with designated in-office days and virtual days. Interns will be required to reside in the Chicagoland area for the duration of the program. Housing assistance for non-local students may be available and will be discussed during the interview process.

Application Process:

The application deadline is MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2026 AT 11:59 PM CST. Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume. As a requirement, students “must be returning back to school” to be eligible. Students meeting the minimum requirements should apply through the MacArthur Foundation website (www.macfound.org/jobs).

NOTE: To ensure a fair and equitable recruitment process, our Foundation Staff and Board do not host preliminary conversations with applicants outside of our standard interview process.

Work Environment and Reasonable Accommodations

The work environment is an office setting.  Requests for reasonable accommodations will be considered to enable a person with disabilities to perform the job.  Reasonable accommodations are also available during the interview process. 

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.