Spring 2026 Human Resources Intern

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a high-caliber strategic policy institute that informs and shapes public policies to reduce poverty, promote equity, and build opportunity. It has a national reputation for conducting rigorous research and analysis, developing evidence-based policy ideas and strategies, shaping a broad array of policy debates at the federal and state levels, and influencing policy outcomes on a range of critical issues. It focuses on improving the lives of people with low or moderate incomes and examines how policies affect particular groups, including Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; immigrants; people with disabilities; and LGBTQ people. CBPP is known for its unique capacity to blend rigorous, timely analysis with effective communications that enable policymakers and the media to make use of its work.   

CBPP seeks a Human Resources Intern to work with a close-knit, four-person HR team. Responsibilities will vary and include providing support in an array of HR functions. The intern will take on substantive projects related to benefits and pay, recruitment and onboarding, and personnel records management.     

Scope of duties 

The intern will provide general administrative support to the HR department, handle confidential and non-routine information, assist with benefits administration, maintain data, process new employee paperwork, maintain filing of employee personnel documents, and track onboarding and offboarding checklists. The intern will also schedule orientation meetings, interviews, and departmental meetings and work independently and within a team on special non-recurring and ongoing projects as needed.      

Qualifications    

• Strong organizational skills; prioritizes and manages conflicting demands to meet deadlines and provides consistent follow-up.   
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; builds relationships and works collaboratively in a team environment.    
• Strong critical-thinking skills.    
• Ability to maintain high standards of confidentiality.    
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and maintain attention to detail.    
• Solution-oriented, focused, and proactive.    
• Demonstrated interest in HR career track. 
• Customer service mindset. 
• Education: recent graduate or current student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in human resources, management, business administration, or a related field.  

Successful interns will have a commitment to CBPP’s mission to improve the well-being of low- and moderate-income people and advance racial equity.    

To expand the diversity of voices that speak with authority in federal and state policy debates, CBPP’s internship program identifies highly motivated candidates — particularly those with experience with communities that are underrepresented in policy debates — with a demonstrated interest in working on public policies that affect low-income and diverse communities and have implications for racial equity.  

International students are welcome to apply. The Center does not provide financial sponsorship for visas or work permits. You must have documentation of work authorization for the U.S. AND a U.S. Social Security number, as of the start date of the internship, to be employed by the Center. 

Application Deadline: October 24, 2025, 11:59 p.m. ET         

Internship Start Date: January 13, 2026      

Internship End Date: May 8, 2026 

CBPP’s spring internship will be remote. Remote interns must be in the U.S. for the duration of the internship. Interns located in the Washington, D.C. metro area during the spring term may have the option to work on a hybrid schedule that includes at least two days per week in person at our D.C. office.  

Work Hours: Interns should be available between 30-40 hours per week during core Eastern Time business hours. Work schedules can be flexed to accommodate time zone differences as well as classwork and other school commitments. 

Compensation:          

• Undergraduate students receive $18.00 per hour.        
• Students with a bachelor's degree receive $19.00 per hour.        
• Graduate students receive $20.00 per hour.        
• Students with a master’s or law degree receive $21.00 per hour.         
• Doctoral students may receive between $20.00 and $22.00 per hour, depending on progress toward completion of degree requirements, relevant coursework, and research.  

Required application materials:      

• Cover letter (please include a discussion of what draws you to CBPP’s mission and the HR team’s work)      
• Résumé  
• Transcript(s)