Research Intern for Arts and Culture

Position description

The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. The Foundation makes grants in four core program areas – Higher Learning, Arts and Culture, Public Knowledge, and Humanities in Place – and through its signature Presidential Initiatives. The Foundation seeks a Research Intern for Arts and Culture. This is a full-time, 10-week position with a start date in late May or June 2025.

Arts and Culture Program Overview: 

Arts and artists are essential to human connection. Through our Arts and Culture (AC) program, Mellon celebrates the power of the arts to challenge, activate, and nourish the human spirit. We support exceptional creative practice, scholarship, and conservation practices while nurturing a representative and economically vibrant arts and culture ecosystem.

Position Summary: 

This role will support the interpretation and activation of data on artists’ labor; contribute to the investigation and implementation of systems to track grantmaking outcomes for leadership in the arts; and provide additional research support, as needed, to help the Arts and Culture program understand the impact of its strategic grantmaking. This role will report to the Senior Research Associate for Arts and Culture, and will work closely with AC’s Manager of Strategic of Initiatives and Planning, in addition to collaborating with staff across the AC team.

Position Description: 

Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to the following:  

• Work independently and in collaboration with AC and Mellon staff to analyze data and conduct research on artists’ labor and leadership in the arts
• Produce consumable data tables that correctly apply survey weights to large datasets
• Analyze and interpret relevant secondary data sources, e.g., U.S. Census data, IRS 990 data, or Candid grantmaking data
• Translate technical research findings into consumable writing for artists, arts advocates, and general audiences
• Support the development of data collection tools that can generate meaningful and actionable information
• Assist with the preparation of briefing materials, research reports, and presentations
• Conduct literature reviews and desk research; summarize and synthesize key takeaways
• Review and summarize internal grantmaking data and grant reports

Qualifications

• Current enrollment in a doctoral program in the social sciences, or the humanities with a computational methods focus
• A strong understanding of applied social sciences including quantitative and qualitative methods
• Demonstrated fluency with Stata, R, Python, or similar programs/languages is required
• Experience analyzing survey statistics
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with experience communicating research findings to multiple audiences
• Ability to take direction while also able to work with minimal direct supervision and handle multiple projects simultaneously
• High level of interpersonal skills and discretion to handle confidential information with sensitivity and integrity
• Curiosity, collegiality, and flexibility to learn and work in a complex and dynamic team setting
• Strong interest in the arts, humanities, and social justice in a nonprofit setting

Mellon Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Mellon offers a generous total reward package that includes base salary and a comprehensive benefits program, as well as an excellent working environment. Mellon is committed to providing compensation that is competitive and equitable within the philanthropic sector. The estimated hourly salary range for this role is $27/hour – $30/hour. The amount of pay offered will be determined by several factors, including but not limited to qualifications, unique skills, credentials, or experience that is expected to impact the candidate’s contribution to the role. We will also consider market data as well as the Foundation’s internal pay equity framework.

The Mellon Foundation is committed to access and inclusion for our applicants. If you have accessibility requests to support your participation in the hiring process, please let us know at your earliest convenience.

Please note that Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices.  

 

Application instructions

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