TN Department of Correction Business Operations Internship-Summer-Internship

Overview

TN Department of Correction 2026 Business Operations Internship — Fiscal Division, Nashville, TN. Internship compensation: $20/hr this position requires a criminal background check.

Who we are:

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a multi-faceted agency with a responsibility to serve the public by operating safe and secure prisons and providing effective community supervision. We take our mission seriously and every employee will work extremely hard to ensure we never compromise public safety.

Who you make a difference:
The TDOC Fiscal Division supports the Agency through financial stewardship, contracts and acquisition support, business analysis, reporting, and operational decision support. The division works with program, operational, and executive leadership to ensure resources are planned, executed, tracked, and reported effectively. Interns assigned to the Fiscal Division support contracts and procurement, business process analysis, financial and operational reporting, data organization and analysis, and special projects aligned with agency priorities.

The focus of this internship is to develop practical, hands-on experience in public-sector business operations.

Interns will develop an understanding of how fiscal, contractual, and operational functions interact within a large public-sector agency. They will apply classroom concepts to real-world government operations, hone professional communication skills, and produce work products that support TDOC goals. Emphasis is placed on sound judgment, documentation practices, and analytical thinking.

• Interns will work under direct supervision and may be assigned to one or more focus areas based on academic background and TDOC needs. Assignments may include contract lifecycle management spanning procurement activities, contract file organization, documentation review, business case development, vendor analysis, and developing/maintaining business process guides.
• Interns may also support continuous improvement initiatives via process mapping/documentation, creation of reports, trackers, management tools, or other materials advancing TDOC goals/initiatives.
• Additionally, interns may assist with data and reporting activities by organizing, cleaning, and validating financial or operational data; developing dashboards or reports using Excel or similar; and helping identify trends, gaps, or opportunities to improve business operations.
• Interns will gain exposure to how financial, contractual, and operational functions integrate to support decision-making in a public-sector environment.

Working toward a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in business, public administration, supply chain management, contracts or procurement management, finance, data analytics, information systems, accounting, or related field; and classified/enrolled as a Junior or greater. Internship must be for academic credit. Applicant must submit to and pass a Background Investigation and Pre-employment Drug Screen.

• Minimum
  
  Skills:
  
  Applicants must be proficient with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and demonstrate the ability to analyze and organize information effectively. Strong verbal and written communication skills are required.
• Preferred Skills (not required):
  Interest in organizing, analyzing, and presenting information clearly and meaningfully is highly valued. Experience/coursework in data analysis, databases, or reporting tools, including Microsoft Excel formulas and pivot tables is preferred but not required and exposure to data visualization/business intelligence tools like Power BI or Tableau is a plus.

Pursuant to the State of Tennessee’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment policy, the State is committed to fair and equal employment opportunities and strives to protect the rights and opportunities of all people to seek, obtain, and hold employment without illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The State’s policy is to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veterans status or any other category protected by state and/or federal civil rights laws.

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