Title: Capacity Building Intern

Department: Community Strategy & Innovation Team

Reports to: Associate Director, CBAS

Job timeline: June 1st - August 7th, 2026

Department Overview

The Capacity Building and Advisory Services (CBAS) team oversees individual, corporate, and nonprofit workshops and trainings. As part of the Community Strategy and Innovation (CSI) department, CBAS advances Chicago Cares’ community-driven and capacity-building work, leveraging innovation and strategy to strengthen how individuals and organizations serve their neighborhoods.

Job Responsibilities

The Capacity Building Intern will support training operations, outreach, and curriculum development. Responsibilities may include:

• Conducting outreach and relationship-building (including cold calls) to support recruitment for workshops and trainings
• Assisting in facilitating group activities
• Creating marketing materials using Canva
• Conducting research on adult learning and curriculum topics
• Collecting and analyzing participant data
• Attend weekly Cafe Group professional development trainings

This role provides experience in facilitation, client engagement, communications, and program strategy.

Supervision & Professional Development

The intern will be supervised by the Associate Director of Capacity Building and Advisory Services, who is experienced in mentoring early-career professionals and developing transferable skills in communication, facilitation, and strategic thinking. The intern will receive weekly supervision, clear goal-setting, and consistent feedback. Chicago Cares has a strong track record of supporting interns, including transitioning into a full-time role, and is committed to providing a structured, supportive, and growth-oriented internship experience.

Capstone Project

The Capacity Building Intern will lead a capstone project tailored to their interests within training, curriculum development, or program strategy. Possible projects include designing a new training module, developing a case study on our curriculum model, supporting the rollout of a training initiative, or conducting a needs assessment and presenting recommendations for future programming. The capstone will culminate in a formal deliverable or presentation to leadership, allowing the intern to demonstrate ownership, research skills, facilitation experience, and strategic planning capacity.

Skills

• Relationship-building
• Facilitation
• Organization

*Must be a current student, enrolled in a College or University.