Intern, Ithaka S+R (Strategy)

The Role

ITHAKA’s mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. Our services—Artstor, JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R—enable people everywhere to learn, to grow, and to overcome historical barriers to education. In carrying out our mission, as employees we feel a deep responsibility to each other and our well-being, and are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. 

ITHAKA’s strategy team works to ensure that our business decisions across the organization are aligned to, and informed by, our current market landscape in the context of our overall mission. Over the last several years, the team has supported the organization by conducting market research, comparator analysis, opportunity assessments, and more for a range of ITHAKA products and services, from cutting edge AI-assisted tools to JSTOR products and offerings designed to reach traditional and new users in exciting and novel ways. 

As a strategy intern, you will work collaboratively on projects that help shape ITHAKA’s strategic direction, improving the lives of students and serving key stakeholders across the higher education sector. You’ll learn from our team of researchers and domain experts while contributing substantially to high-priority organizational decisions. This position will report to the Program Manager for Strategic Research and Market Analysis.

This internship will last 12 weeks, beginning on June 2, 2025. To be considered for this opportunity, please ensure your application is submitted by the deadline of January 31, 2025.

Responsibilities

Interns will engage in the following core experiences:

• Participate in a unique learning experience and address critical challenges in higher education.
• Develop a broader knowledge of ITHAKA’s work through exposure to and active participation in discussions beyond the scope of the intern’s specific project.
• Collaborate across the organization to produce specific deliverables.
• Present work accomplished during the internship showcasing deliverables achieved and skills learned.

Interns will support one or more projects during their term. Specific project components, tasks required to complete them, and expected project deliverables will be defined in collaboration with the intern’s supervisor and additional team members. Potential project components include: 

• Contributing to product development, working with cross-functional stakeholders to assess product needs and the scope of opportunity for proposed solutions.
• Conducting market research (e.g., desk research, interviews).
• Creating well-documented reports, executive syntheses, and other outputs to distill patterns and track trends across providers and markets.
• Contributing to cross-functional decision-making conversations, providing insight and evidence gained throughout the internship.

Experience and Skills

Any combination of professional experience, volunteer work, coursework, or other transferable skills may be applied toward these qualifications. Strong candidates will possess several of the following qualifications:

• Active enrollment in a qualifying bachelor’s or master’s degree program
• A strategic and business mindset that can be applied in our not-for-profit setting with a combination of mission/impact goals and revenue/P&L goals.
• Professional or academic background in economics, business, nonprofit management or related fields.
• The technical skills to conduct market analysis projects; for example, landscape reviews, comparator analysis, product comparisons, and/or market-sizing estimates.
• Understanding of or interest in the higher education, scholarly communication, and academic libraries marketplace.
• Ability to translate complex concepts and research data into non-narrative formats (dashboards, charts, SWOTs, etc.), and provide clear, actionable takeaways.
• Comfort working in a fluid, highly collaborative, remote team environment.
• Ambitious self-starter enthusiastic about learning new skills.
• Highly effective communicator, eager to collaboratively set goals and seek feedback.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks while ensuring attention to detail and accuracy.

Work Authorization and Sponsorship

ITHAKA is not currently considering candidates who require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States.

Compensation & Benefits

At ITHAKA we believe in openness and equity. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary, so candidates know what to expect. The pay for this position is $20.00 per hour.