Hiring Initiative Intern

The Commercial Club of Chicago and Civic Committee Overview

The Commercial Club of Chicago works to shape Chicago’s future to make our region a better place for everyone to live, work, and do business. Since 1877 we have helped shape Chicago into one of the world’s greatest cities. The Commercial Club of Chicago is a membership organization of senior leaders in the region. Our members span the business, education, civic, cultural, and philanthropic sectors – unified by excitement for the future of Chicago. We believe cooperation and an open exchange of ideas are fundamental to success. Today, the Commercial Club continues to address social and economic issues of importance to the Chicago region.

In 1983, the Civic Committee was formed as an entity within the Commercial Club to identify key issues facing the State of Illinois and the greater Chicago region and providing leadership, high-quality research, long-term policy recommendations and programmatic actions for the benefit of the city and region. The Civic Committee is composed of the leaders of the Chicago region’s leading private sector employers and works with public officials and other civic organizations on transformational initiatives to promote our region’s social and economic well-being. The Civic Committee generally serves as the Commercial Club’s lead on policy and initiatives in public safety, business diversity, transportation and infrastructure, and state and local finance.

We also work alongside, and partially fund, the organizations established by us to tackle key issues head-on:

• Civic Consulting Alliance:  Civic Consulting Alliance has an effective model for addressing systemic problems and achieving lasting change. We leverage the power of public-private collaboration through a unique approach to management consulting, to channel Chicago’s proud history of civic engagement.
• Kids First Chicago:  Kids First Chicago’s mission is to dramatically improve education for Chicago’s children by ensuring high-quality public schools are accessible to all families. We believe a healthy education environment where kids, schools, and communities thrive is the key to a world-class city. We believe that those closest to our students – families, community members, and educators – are best equipped to design policies and systems that will improve equity and lead to stronger outcomes for our students, communities, and city.
• P33:  Our ambition is to transform Chicago into a tier one technology and innovation hub and promote inclusive economic growth.

For additional information on the Commercial Club and Affiliated Organizations, please refer to our websites at Commercial Club of Chicago or Civic Committee.

Civic Committee Internship Opportunities

The Civic Committee is seeking an intern to support its Public Safety Task Force Hiring Initiative. The position requires a hybrid work schedule, with at least three days a week working on-site at the organization’s headquarters located at 190 S. LaSalle Street, 39th Floor, in Chicago.

Total Number of Hours & Weeks

• Flexible, but at least 320 hours
• Monday, June 15th – Friday, September 11th – flexible end dates

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The Public Safety Task Force Hiring Initiative Intern will report to the Associate Director of the Hiring Initiative. Responsibilities include supporting employer engagement, talent provider expansion, and strategic workforce initiatives through research, analysis, and operations support. Projects include improving Salesforce data and reporting, preparing employer prospecting materials, managing employer check‑in workflows, and conducting market scans of talent providers and social enterprises. The intern will also contribute to Community Violence Intervention (CVI) focused workforce pipeline analysis, transitional jobs planning, and communications efforts such as employer success stories and donor impact reporting.

Overall Requirements

• Currently pursuing higher education (associate’s, bachelor’s).
• Proactive, willing to ask questions, and demonstrates initiative in performing administrative and research duties.
• Possesses professional email communication skills and etiquette for diverse stakeholders (employers, nonprofits, leadership).
• Adaptable to a fast-pasted environment and ability to manage multiple projects spanning employer engagement, data systems, research, and reporting.
• Honesty and integrity in reporting on daily tasks.
• Experience or strong interest in employer-facing, workforce development, economic development, and/or social impact work.
• Strong alignment with equitable hiring and community-based workforce goals, including work connected to CVI and justice‑impacted populations.

Additional Relevant Skills*

• Familiarity with Microsoft 365 applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook); option for experience in Copilot or other generative AI tools.
• Comfortable or familiar with Salesforce or similar CRM systems (data cleaning, reporting, basic workflows).
• Experience preparing sales pitch materials, briefs, or pre‑meeting packets.
• Familiarity with workforce-focused community-based organizations, training programs, apprenticeships, transitional jobs, or third‑party hiring models.
• Experience conducting market scans or landscape analyses and drafting recommendation memos or playbooks.
• Strong storytelling skills, including drafting success stories, impact summaries, or donor-facing materials.

*Not required but applicable to this role.