MBA Intern (Paid) - Strategy, Business Development, & Ops | Fall 2026
Application Deadline: 30 September 2026
Department: Operations
Employment Type: Internship
Location: New York | Fidi
Compensation: $30.00 - $35.00 / hour
Description
About the Position
Karp Strategies is seeking an MBA Intern to provide Chief of Staff-style support across a range of strategic and operational priorities. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role for someone who thrives in dynamic environments, is eager to roll up their sleeves, and wants to contribute meaningfully to a growing, mission-driven firm.
Now in our 11th year, no two weeks look the same - and this role reflects that. You''ll take on substantive projects with real end-to-end ownership, embedding in active workstreams alongside our team. Some of the questions you might be tackling include: How do we optimize our BD pipeline and reporting to drive revenue growth? Where should a firm our size invest to generate the highest marketing ROI? How do we leverage AI - internally and within client engagements - while maintaining the confidentiality our partners depend on?
In practice, this could mean co-designing a go-to-market strategy for a new practice area, going deep on market intelligence and thought leadership, or building the data infrastructure and reporting systems that drive smarter decision-making across the firm. The intern will report directly to the Managing Principal, Strategy & Operations, with mentorship from our Marketing & BD Associate and members of our Leadership team.
Key Responsibilities
Business Development & Market Intelligence
- Serve as a key partner to support our Marketing & BD Associate and senior leadership on active business development pursuits - supporting outreach, proposal development, and relationship tracking across priority sectors
- Conduct deep market and landscape research to identify new client opportunities, emerging sectors, and competitive dynamics; translate findings into actionable BD strategy
- Support development of go-to-market plans for targeted practice areas, including state-level landscape research, stakeholder mapping, and opportunity prioritization
- Assist in preparing proposals, presentations, and materials for prospective client engagements
- Help maintain, organize, and improve business development data, including pipelines and tracking systems, with an eye toward data quality and actionable reporting
Marketing & Communications
- Identify high-impact content and marketing pieces, including thought leadership, project spotlights, and market-facing narratives that reflect the firm''s voice and values
- Support preparation of materials for conferences, events, and speaking engagements
- Collaborate with leadership and our Marketing & BD Associate on external-facing communications and brand-building initiatives
Strategy & Operations
- Support the design and build-out of data infrastructure and reporting systems that bring our pipeline, marketing, and performance data to life - turning data points into dashboards, reports, and insights that drive decision-making, identifying trends, and preparing leadership-ready summaries
- Explore and implement AI tools to improve firm-wide efficiency and collaboration - both in internal workflows and, where appropriate, within client-facing work - while maintaining client confidentiality
- Support cross-functional special projects at the direction of senior leadership
- Assist with strategic planning processes, including tracking and analyzing key KPIs and preparing supporting materials for leadership meetings and retreats
- Attend and document key meetings; manage follow-up actions as needed
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Currently enrolled in an MBA program, with coursework or experience in strategy, business development, marketing, consulting, operations, or a related field
- Genuine interest in urban issues, community economic development, and/or social impact consulting
- Strong analytical and research skills, including experience with data analysis and reporting; able to synthesize information and communicate it clearly
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable drafting polished, professional materials
- Fluency or comfort leveraging AI platforms (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini) to enhance research, writing, and workflow efficiency
- Entrepreneurial mindset: proactive, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity
- Able to work independently while remaining collaborative - comfortable managing through others and coordinating across teams without direct line authority
- Able to maintain strict confidentiality when handling sensitive firm or client information
- Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office; familiarity with CRM tools or project management platforms is a plus
- Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple work streams simultaneously