Executive Internship 2026

PACE•Los Angeles, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This is an unpaid internship designed to provide a high-performing college student with structured, educational exposure to executive-level operations, strategic planning, and organizational management within a mission-driven nonprofit. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the intern will engage in learning-focused projects that build professional skills in the context of PACE Business�s work serving small, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses across Los Angeles. The primary purpose of this internship is the educational benefit of the intern.

Requirements

Academic 2 years or more at a college or university program.
Proficiency with Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Familiarity with Google Workspace (Drive, Sheets, Docs, Slides).
Basic data analysis skills: pivot tables, charts, data cleaning in Excel or Google Sheets.
Strong research and writing skills: ability to synthesize complex information and present it clearly.
Highly organized, detail-oriented, and reliable with deadlines.
Genuine interest in nonprofit management, economic development, or public sector work.
Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and ask good questions.
Comfortable working directly with senior leadership in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Preferred fields of study: Business Administration, Public Policy, Data Analytics, Urban Planning, Economics, Sociology or related fields.
Familiarity with project management tools (Asana, Trello, Monday.com, or similar) is a plus.
Familiarity with government or nonprofit databases is a plus (SAM.gov, Cal eProcure, ProcureLA).

Responsibilities

Support and track active initiatives across departments, maintain project timelines, and help ensure deliverables stay on schedule.
Conduct meaningful research on operational trends, performance benchmarks, or strategic opportunities and present findings as a final deliverable.
Collect, clean, and analyze organizational data to surface insights that inform COO decision-making and program planning.
Gain direct insight into how a nonprofit COO manages cross-functional priorities, stakeholder relationships, and organizational performance.
Maintain a master project tracker across active COO initiatives, monitoring deadlines, owners, and completion status.
Support the planning and coordination of cross-departmental projects, including scheduling, agenda preparation, communication drafts, and follow-up documentation.
Draft project charters, work plans, and status update summaries for internal stakeholders.
Identify bottlenecks or gaps in project execution and flag risks to the COO with proposed solutions.
Assist with preparing materials for leadership meetings, board updates, and partner presentations.
Research best practices from peer nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and social enterprises relevant to PACE's strategic priorities.
Analyze internal programs, workflows, or outcomes data and benchmark against comparable organizations.
Develop original resources, frameworks, or strategic recommendations grounded in research findings.
Present findings and recommendations in a formal presentation to the COO and leadership team.
Collect and clean data from internal sources including program trackers, intake records, and outcome reports.
Build or maintain dashboards and reports in Excel or Google Sheets to visualize key performance indicators.
Assist with preparing quarterly program performance summaries and narrative reports.
Identify trends, gaps, or patterns in data and present findings clearly to a non-technical audience.