CFSI Internship Opportunity

[Community Development Banking List]

Original message from: dnewville@cfsinnovation.com

*Policy Intern*




The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) provides national
leadership and new ideas on public policies that encourage and enhance
access to reasonably priced financial services for the financially
underserved. CFSI seeks to advance federal financial services policy to spur
product innovation and market competition, address impediments to
high-quality, reasonably-priced financial services access, and educate
policymakers about low income consumers’ financial services needs. As an
organization, CFSI develops and distributes real-world tested research and
strategy, provides funding to promising companies, and facilitates
cross-sector business collaboration to transform the lives of underbanked
consumers across the economic, geographic and cultural spectrum. CFSI is a
501(c)3 and is funded by a range of foundations including: the Annie E.
Casey Foundation, the Mott Foundation, the Heron Foundation, and the Ford
Foundation.



CFSI’s policy efforts focus on five key areas:



- Participation in the financial services regulation conversation and
financial services policy developments to build financial stability and a
ladder out of poverty for low income families in the U.S.
- Promotion and advancement of a prepaid debit and savings account on the
federal individual income tax form, which would be delivered to millions of
low income tax filers.
- Development of federal policy proposals to address the small dollar
credit needs of low income households.
- Identification and promotion of federal policies to address impediments
that affect low income families’ access to reasonably priced financial
services and products, with a focused project on the identification issues
facing immigrants and transient populations.
- Education of policymakers about the financial lives and needs of low
income families.



The Policy Intern position is a full-time, five month position based in
CFSI’s Washington, DC Office. It is designed to provide valuable financial
services policy experience to a highly motivated, mission-oriented recent
graduate of a relevant bachelor or master degree program. The intern will
receive a stipend and important professional development experiences in
federal policymaking and the financial services field.




*Qualifications and Characteristics*:




- Keen interest in the role of financial services policy and the
financial, savings, and wealth needs of lower income families.
- Ability to conduct research, analyze findings, and summarize
conclusions verbally and in writing, including the ability to write briefs
and longer research papers.
- Ability to analyze, synthesize, and summarize information to make
persuasive arguments for policy ideas.
- Ability and comfort engaging external organizations, financial industry
representatives, policy offices, nonprofits, consumer advocates, etc. to
conduct policy research.
- Ability to work in a fast paced environment, while maintaining work
output on a policy research project, further described below.
- Ability to create power points, presentations, and one page summary
documents.
- Solid organization skills and ability to manage multiple tasks
simultaneously.



*Project Goals and Deliverables*




A Policy Intern with CFSI will have a unique opportunity to work with an
organization that is helping to address the financial services, savings, and
asset building needs of lower income households, in order to help those
households achieve financial stability. CFSI seeks to aid low income
families through improving their access to safe, affordable, and wealth
building financial products and services. Our mission is to ensure that low
income families are provided the financial tools, resources, and guidance to
earn and keep income, access reasonably-priced credit and establish a credit
history, build emergency savings as resource for unexpected expenses, and
achieve longer term asset goals, which are proven to increase families’
financial stability and wellbeing.



The Policy Intern will work with the Policy Director and Analyst to develop
and inform financial services policies, and educate policymakers and the
public at large about the financial services needs of the poor through the
distribution of reports, the establishment of partnerships with other
organizations, and the production of one event open to the public, on
Capitol Hill.



In particular, over the course of the term with CFSI, the intern will help
to develop and author briefs on select policy topics and to educate
policymakers generally about topics that are affecting families’ ability to
transact, save, and build wealth. The work will entail engaging with CFSI
staff to distill insights from our consumer and industry research, engaging
other nonprofits, conducting research and analysis on a specific aspect of
the financial services, which the intern will produce as a paper at the end
of the term. The work on this policy research project will culminate in the
wide distribution of a paper and as part of CFSI’s overall policymaker and
industry education efforts.



The Policy Intern will also participate in meetings on financial services
topics with U.S. Treasury officials, banking regulators, including the FDIC,
the Federal Reserve Board, and Congressional offices. This work does not
include lobbying activities.



For immediate consideration, please submit a resume, cover letter, and
writing sample to resumes@cfsinnovation.com and place “CFSI Policy Intern
Position” in the subject line. The position is open until filled.