General Internships

Department and Internship Descriptions

Below are general descriptions of the functions of OPIC's various departments, with brief descriptions of typical intern duties in each.

For general internships, applicants should refer to the list of specific internships available for any given semester in order to prioritize and route their applications to the appropriate departments for review.

Department of External Affairs
The Office of External Affairs is the public affairs, communications, congressional and inter-agency liaison arm of the agency. The office issues press releases; publishes all of the agencies printed materials such as program brochures and annual reports; arranges investment and trade related events such as seminars, roundtables, conferences, etc.; makes presentations and arranges for OPIC officers to speak at various events; and acts as the agency's liaison with congressional offices and other federal and state government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Interns in the Intergovernmental and Public Affairs Office work to support the office's efforts to provide reporters with information about OPIC, assist in the production of press releases and publications, conduct research, respond to telephone and written communications, etc. Interns in the Congressional Affairs Office perform a variety of work at OPIC related to the U.S. Congress, which may include attending congressional hearings, assisting in responding to telephone and written communications, conducting research, preparing papers, etc.

Finance Department
Finance internships are available in two related departments: Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Structured Finance (SF). Small and Medium Enterprises supports American investment abroad by providing long-term small to medium size loans to small and middle market clients in a wide variety of projects, while Structured Finance provides larger, long-term loans to finance large infrastructure projects.

In either department, interns serve as junior financial analysts and can be involved in all stages of project development as part of a project team. Interns may review applications for financing and financial statements, build or analyze models of projected project cash flows, research various policy issues, prepare country economic and political risk analyses, prepare credit reviews of outstanding loans and work with Investment Officers to review and monitor problem accounts.

Insurance Department
The Insurance Department issues political risk insurance policies to protect investments in developing countries against political risks including currency inconvertibility, war, and expropriation and political violence.

Interns perform insurance portfolio analysis, conduct research on underwriting issues and selected topics in international investment, assist insurance officers with contract amendments and country risk profiles, and undertake business development and market research tasks.

Office of Economic Development
The Office of Economic Development coordinates OPIC's economic analysis, development research and market intelligence, thus strengthening OPIC's analytic capacity for leadership in market driven economic development.

Intern duties may include researching such issues as the investment climate in an assigned country, or sector in a region or country, or a U.S. company's international activities; preparing briefing materials and incorporating the information they have gathered on an assigned topic into a briefing paper for use by other OPIC staff or U.S. Government officials; and they may be asked to review project proposals and subsequently prepare memos detailing the project and/or making recommendations.

Investment Funds Department
Interns analyze and review materials on venture capital/private equity fund proposals; design and modify financial models; prepare written reports on current funds; research new financial structures and investment vehicles; and perform due diligence on proposed funds.

Capital markets interns will analyze financial market information and inter-relationships and maintain performance measures and statistics relating to OPIC's international project finance and investment funds transactions and their market behavior. Particular focus is placed on market pricing, performance of banks providing services to OPIC, determining investors in OPIC-guaranteed obligations and deal structuring practices and opportunities available to OPIC financial markets.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer encompasses the Budget Office, Financial Management, Human Resources Management, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and Security and Administrative Services.

Internships are in a wide variety of areas and duties may include assisting risk officer(s), financial officers, working in data processing, and assisting personnel management activities.

Office of Investment Policy
The Office of Investment Policy analyzes proposed investment projects to ensure their eligibility for OPIC assistance with regard to the agency's policies on worker rights and environmental standards, employment and development and market effects; performs risk analyses and portfolio analyses; and monitors existing projects to assure continued adherence to contractual provisions and statutory requirements.

Intern duties may include providing assistance in establishing global risk measurement and management methodologies with respect to regional, country, sector and customer concentrations; reviewing portfolio models and determining their applicability to OPIC; conduct research on public policy issues as they apply to OPIC; or perform research and analyses on the impact of potential investments on emerging markets and project host countries with regard to developmental effects, environmental, and worker safety and rights issues, etc.