By UW Sustainability | Mar 18, 2025

King County’s Finance and Business Operations Division, Procurement & Payables section, is seeking a Sustainable Purchasing Graduate Intern to join the Education, Compliance and Training team. This internship is expected to begin in May or June and will continue through the 2025-2026 academic year. The position is open to students who are enrolled in a Master's program for the full duration of the internship. Typically, interns work part-time (10-20 hours per week) during the academic term and may work full-time (40 hours per week) during the summer and school breaks.

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More details: 

The ideal candidate is a quick and versatile learner with excellent research and communication skills and high attention to detail.  

This intern will be assisting the Sustainable Purchasing Program Manager in implementation of the County’s sustainable purchasing, green building and strategic climate action policies as they relate to reducing the environmental impact of county purchases.

Internship Learning Objectives:

  • Conduct research related to sustainable purchasing policies, environmental standards and certifications, product specifications, and industry best practices.
  • Assist with developing outreach tools, including policy implementation guidance and identifying sustainable products, services and contracts.
  • Collect, tabulate, and summarize purchasing data.
  • Assist in the 2025 Strategic Climate Action Plan update process as it relates to purchasing goals.
  • Assist with internal/external communications about sustainable policies, products and services, via e-mail, reports, training materials and website.
  • Maintain sustainable purchasing program website and on-line guides content.
  • Support meetings and training events; plan, organize, schedule, attend and present.
  • Support internal sustainable purchasing efforts as needed.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Currently enrolled in graduate school for Business Administration, Public Administration/Policy, Environmental Science or another related program;
  • Basic knowledge of the principles of public procurement processes;
  • Basic principles of sustainability, including environmental, social and fiscal aspects;
  • Have an interest in and understanding of public sector and are responsible in a professional environment;
  • Strong communication, interpersonal, writing and customer service skills;
  • Intermediate level of technology proficiency using MS Office Productivity tools in your daily work;
  • Ability to manage your time and adapt to changing priorities, work on multiple priorities and projects simultaneously, meet quick deadlines, and produce timely and quality work products;
  • Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

We would love it if you had:

  • A passion for sustainability
  • Knowledge of environmental attributes of products, including recycled content, resource efficient, toxicity, end-of-life management, product stewardship and total cost of ownership.
  • Knowledge of greenhouse gas emission impacts.
  • Experience with LEAN processes and principles.
  • Experience with SharePoint, MS Teams and other collaborative online tools.