FY'26 Internship Cohort: Fall-Spring Program

Job Description

Job Description

FY’26 ACA Internship Cohort (Fall-Spring Program)

Program Overview

Are you a college student looking to gain valuable, real-world experience while contributing to impactful projects? The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) has opened our FY’26 Internship Cohort (Fall-Spring Program)! This internship program is designed to provide students with practical, hands-on experience in a professional office environment.

Our program intends to provide meaningful learning opportunities across multiple departments, including Operations, Small Business Development, Grants/Opportunities, and Entrepreneurship. ACA Interns will actively contribute to projects that align with their areas of academic interest and career aspirations while developing transferable workplace skills.

Internship Program Details

Location: Phoenix, AZ – onsite, with some remote work on as-needed basis

Internship Dates: TBD October 2025 through June 26, 2026

Schedule: Part-time; average 20 hours per week; maximum 29 hours per week

Pay: $18 per hour undergraduate student; $21 per hour graduate student

Eligibility Requirements

• Must be a current undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at an accredited university.
• Must be able to commit to work onsite (no remote option) for 20–29 hours/week; October 2025 through June 2026.
• Demonstrated interest in one of the opportunities described below.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite; some roles will require advanced skill in Excel and/or PowerPoint.
• Organized, professional, and eager to learn!

Application Instructions

To apply, you must submit:

• Resume
• Cover letter is REQUIRED explaining:
  • Why do you want this internship at our agency?
  • The area or discipline you are most interested in (Operations, Small Business, Grants & Opportunities, or Entrepreneurship & Innovation).
  • What skills or experiences do you hope to gain from this opportunity?

Our selection process will include a virtual screening and an in-person interview. The target start date for this internship is anticipated 10/13/2026.

Internship Opportunities

FACILITIES & OPERATIONS

This internship offers hands-on experience in general office and administrative duties within a fast-paced and collaborative environment. The intern will assist in ensuring the smooth operation of our facilities, support various operational projects, provide reception area support to the business community and ACA employees, and learn and support audio-visual requirements for onsite meetings. Additionally, the intern will have the opportunity to practice problem-solving and change management. The ideal candidate will be punctual and highly accountable, possess strong organizational and multitasking skills, excellent written communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to work independently as well as part of a team.

ENTREPRENUERSHIP & INNOVATION

We are looking for a dynamic and passionate intern to join our team and work closely with our business plan competition, the Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), and support our statewide deal room, DealHaus, to enable angel and venture capital investments. This internship offers an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the world of venture capital and startups. The ideal candidate should have a solid understanding of venture capital, exceptional communication skills, strong analytical experience with a bend towards data analysis, and have a strong passion for startups.

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

We are looking for a dynamic and passionate intern to join our team and work closely with our small business team on metric tracking, program coordination, event support, and other projects related to small business. This internship offers an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the small business ecosystem. The ideal candidate should have strong analytical experience with a bend towards data analysis, and a strong interest in startups and small business development.

SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (SBOP)

We are looking for a dynamic and passionate intern to join our team and work closely with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Team and the Small Business Team. This internship offers an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the world of small business, startups, manufacturing, and event support. The ideal candidate should have an interest, classroom experience, and/or real-world experience in event planning, supply chain, manufacturing, business management and/or data analytics, and exceptional communication skills.

GRANTS & OPPORTUNITIES

We are looking for a thoughtful graduate student with an interest in federal grants, private grants and/or development finance to assist the Chief Opportunity & Research Officer in improving ACA’s grant policies, procedures and practices; identifying grant opportunities; identifying opportunities to deploy development finance tools to support economic and community development around Arizona; and supporting the process to identify and utilize Opportunity Zones (round 2) in Arizona. The ideal candidate should be at least somewhat familiar with any of the following: grants, development finance tools, including federal tax credits; government bonds; private-activity bonds and/or Opportunity Zones. The candidate should have excellent information management skills and a highly professional communication style. The candidate must be hyper detail-oriented and able to work largely independently. This internship is well suited to graduate students who intend to pursue careers in economic development, community development, local/regional/state government, non-profit work, foundations or at community development finance institutions.

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: recruit, grow, create – recruit out-of-state companies to expand their operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to grow their business in Arizona and beyond; and partner with entrepreneurs and companies large and small to create new jobs and businesses in targeted industries.

Company Description

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: recruit, grow, create – recruit out-of-state companies to expand their operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to grow their business in Arizona and beyond; and partner with entrepreneurs and companies large and small to create new jobs and businesses in targeted industries.