Apprentice

The Andrew W Mellon Foundation • New York, NY

1d • $27 - $30 • Hybrid

About The Position

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 an apprentice for our Monuments Project team.

About The Monuments Project:

The Monuments Project is a multi-year commitment by the Mellon Foundation that is aimed at transforming the nation’s commemorative landscape to ensure our country’s collective history is more completely and accurately represented. Launched in 2020 as a $250 million Presidential Initiative—and doubled in 2023 to $500 million—the Monuments Project supports efforts to express, elevate, and preserve the stories of those who have been overlooked, and explores how we might foster a more complete telling of who we are as a nation. Grants made under the Monuments Project fund publicly oriented initiatives that are accessible to everyone and promote stories that are not already represented in commemorative spaces. Through the Monuments Project, the Foundation funds a wide range of entities, including governments (federal, tribal, state, and local); community-based and grassroots organizations; arts and cultural organizations; and institutions of higher learning.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Senior Program Associate and working with the full team, the Program Apprentice will support the Monuments Project initiative within the Office of the President. The Apprentice will provide a wide range of administrative, organizational, and research support. This apprentice is ideal for a student or early career professional seeking an opportunity to gain exposure to and experience with transforming the way our country’s histories are told in public spaces and ensuring that future generations inherit a commemorative landscape that venerates and reflects the vast, rich complexity of the American story. The Apprentice will also have the opportunity to learn about foundation operations generally and within a cohort of interns and apprentices across a variety of the Foundation’s departments. The one-year apprenticeship begins in June 2026 and runs full-time (37.5 hours per week) through August 2026. It transitions into a part-time position (at minimum 22.5 hours per week) from September through May 2027.

Requirements

• Enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program (or will be enrolled in a graduate degree program beginning summer 2026), or an early career professional
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Familiarity with various web-based platforms and/or the ability to learn new applications
• Superior research, oral, written, and visual communication skills
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, with ability to synthesize and distill complex information and support informed decision-making
• Commitment to the Foundation’s mission, core values, and focus on social justice
• Strong interest in history, the arts and humanities, commemoration and public memory, and social justice in a nonprofit setting
• Proven ability to take direction but also to work with minimal direct supervision and manage multiple projects while being a committed team player
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate next steps, take initiative, exercise discretion, and apply sound judgment
• Willingness to learn from mistakes, and to approach work with curiosity and integrity
• Must be flexible, highly organized, and have a proven ability to juggle multiple tasks with impeccable follow-up and attention to detail
• Ability to be highly productive working independently and as a member of a team

Responsibilities

• Prepare thoroughly researched, concisely written, and clearly illustrated internal analytical and evaluative briefs as needed, to support ongoing evaluation of the Monuments Project portfolio
• Conduct episodic and ongoing desk research in connection with new program grantmaking, initiatives, and strategies
• Assist with the preparation of briefing materials for initiative-focused events, convenings, and travel, as assigned
• Support the discussion of grant requests by gathering information on requesting projects and organizations
• Participate in meetings with current and potential grantees; take notes and maintain notes and files on grant and potential grant activities
• Assist with sourcing, drafting, and editing content for internal memos and other internal correspondence
• Assist with general office and grant-related work, such as electronic filing, responding to requests for information, scheduling, etc.
• Reconcile/organize archival documents in the data storage system

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed