2027 Summer Intern, Disaster Management

Disasters move through a lifecycle: preparedness, response and recovery, with mitigation running underneath all three. ICF's Emergency and Disaster Management practice works across that entire lifecycle for federal, state and local government clients, organized into three service lines: Preparedness and Insurance, Emergency and Disaster Operations, and Disaster Recovery. This internship rotates an undergraduate student through all three, so the arc of a disaster (the planning before, the operations during and the rebuilding after) is something they see connected, not siloed.

Our summer internship

Our summer internship is full-time for 10-weeks beginning in early June and ending in early August. Work may be performed in a hybrid capacity from Baton Rouge, LA or Tallahassee, FL, or remotely from any U.S. location. At this time, we are unable to provide relocation nor housing assistance.

The Rotation Experience

This is a learning and exposure focused internship, not a placement into one function. Interns move through each service line on a set rotation and work alongside the consultants doing the work that day.

Preparedness and Insurance (Planning)

This rotation sits on the front end of the lifecycle, before a disaster hits. Interns gain exposure to emergency operations plan development, hazard and vulnerability assessments, and exercise design across tabletop, functional and full scale formats used to test those plans. Additionally, Long term recovery planning that helps a jurisdiction come back stronger than before. Interns will also see how insurance and risk transfer strategies, including catastrophe modeling and risk pooling, factor into a client's broader resilience posture.

Emergency and Disaster Operations

This rotation sits inside active response. Interns gain exposure to Emergency Operations Center structure and staffing, Incident Command System and National Incident Management System practices, resource typing and mutual aid requests, and the situational awareness products, such as situation reports and leadership briefings, that keep a response moving and stakeholders informed.

Disaster Recovery

This rotation picks up once the response phase winds down and communities begin to rebuild. Interns gain exposure to FEMA Public Assistance program delivery, damage assessment, documentation, cost recovery and grant compliance. Specific tasks and projects will vary by rotation and current caseload. This internship is not a guarantee of hands on ownership of any particular project. What is guaranteed is exposure, learning and time with the teams doing the work.

Basic Qualifications:

• By start date at least 30 credit hours in emergency management, homeland security, public administration, political science, public health or a related field
• U.S. Citizenship is required per Federal contracts

Preferred Qualifications:

• Basic familiarity with the disaster lifecycle and core emergency management concepts is a plus, including coursework or self study in FEMA's Incident Command System or National Incident Management System (for example IS 100 and IS 700)
• FEMA online coursework completed including FEMA IS-100.C, FEMA IS-200.C, FEMA IS-700.B, FEMA IS-800.D
• Comfortable with Excel, PowerPoint and Word; exposure to GIS or other data analysis tools is a plus
• Strong writing and research skills, including the ability to translate technical material for different audiences
• Genuine interest in emergency management, disaster recovery or public sector consulting