GSA’s General Services Acquisition Policy Division operates an internship program that seeks highly motivated graduate students (law, business, public administration, or public policy) for full-time summer internships. As an intern, you will provide critical research and writing assistance to policy staff on a variety of matters related to acquisition policies and regulatory matters, including drafting policy and regulatory documents that will be published in the Federal Register.
The Policy Division serves three key functions: (1) we are translators, explaining Government-wide acquisition policy (e.g., statutes, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Executive Orders) in terms of GSA operations for GSA’s leaders and GSA’s acquisition workforce; (2) we are regulators, drafting GSA (agency-level) acquisition regulations, policy, and guidance; and (3) we are advisors, reviewing draft legislation, regulations, service-level policies, and high visibility procurements for potential improvements to advise GSA’s Senior Procurement Executive. Our interns will be fully integrated into the Policy Division’s workflow, including handling their own rulemaking.
Internship Program
Policy Division interns are supervised by Policy Division staff, and interns provide critical research and writing assistance on a range of acquisition policy matters. Through the Policy Division’s participation in policy processes across the federal government, interns have the opportunity to perform diverse and substantive policy work related to federal procurement policy. The office environment is fast paced, so accuracy and attention to detail are absolute requirements.
Qualifications
The Policy Division seeks individuals who are in law school or graduate school for business, public administration, or public policy (JD, MBA, MPA, or MPP):
- Highly motivated
- Willing to contribute where needed
- Ability to handle fast pace and quick turnaround assignments
- Excellent communications skills
- Ability to exercise professional judgment and maturity
- Computer literacy
There are no curricular requirements for selection as an intern; however, the Policy Division prefers applicants who have completed relevant coursework, and whose work experience demonstrates a commitment to public service. Relevant coursework may include such things as government contract or procurement law classes, administrative law classes, and public policy or technical writing classes.
Interested Applicants
The Policy Division offers full-time opportunities (35-40 hours/week). Applicants should be available to work for at least 12 weeks. The internship may be taken for school credit at the intern’s discretion. This is an unpaid internship at this time, all applicants must be U.S. Citizens, and if selected will be required to undergo a background check.
Our hiring activities are generally done along the following timeline:
- Applications are due by the third week of February,
- Interviews are conducted within the first two weeks of March, and
- Offers are extended shortly thereafter for summer internships.
Interested applicants should email a resume, unofficial transcript (including current classes), and writing sample (limited to 5 pages) to gsarpolicy@gsa.gov.
Due to the large volume of applications submitted to the Policy Division, we are not able to confirm receipt of your application. However, if selected for an interview, you can expect to be contacted within one to three weeks after an application deadline has passed.
U.S. General Services Administration