Business Operations Intern

Job Description

2026 Business Operations Internship – Tennessee Department of Correction

Department: Tennessee Department of Correction

Division: Fiscal Division

Location: Nashville, TN

Salary: $20/hr

Note: This position requires a criminal background check. Therefore, you may be required to provide information about your criminal history in order to be considered for this position.

Who We Are

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a multi-faceted agency committed to serving the public by operating safe and secure prisons and providing effective community supervision. We uphold our mission with utmost seriousness, and every employee is dedicated to ensuring public safety is never compromised.

Who You Make a Difference For

The Tennessee Department of Correction Fiscal Division is crucial to the agency’s success. It provides essential support through financial stewardship, contracts and acquisition management, business analysis, comprehensive reporting, and operational decision support. The division collaborates closely with program, operational, and executive leadership to ensure resources are effectively planned, executed, tracked, and reported.

As an intern within the Fiscal Division, you will support a diverse range of functions, including:

• Contracts and procurement support
• Business process analysis
• Financial and operational reporting
• Data organization and analysis
• Special projects aligned with agency priorities

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

Job Overview

Interns are expected to develop a comprehensive understanding of how fiscal, contractual, and operational functions interact within a large public-sector agency. You will have the opportunity to apply classroom concepts to real-world government operations, refine your professional communication skills, and produce valuable work products that directly support TDOC goals. A strong emphasis is placed on developing sound judgment, robust documentation practices, and critical analytical thinking.

Key Responsibilities

Interns will work under direct supervision and may be assigned to one or more focus areas, depending on their academic background and the current needs of TDOC. Assignments may include:

• Contract Lifecycle Management:
  • Assisting with procurement activities
  • Organizing contract files
  • Reviewing documentation
  • Supporting business case development
  • Conducting vendor analysis
  • Developing and maintaining business process guides
• Continuous Improvement Initiatives:
  • Supporting process mapping and documentation efforts
  • Creating reports, trackers, and management tools
  • Developing other materials to advance TDOC goals and initiatives
• Data and Reporting Activities:
  • Organizing, cleaning, and validating financial or operational data
  • Developing dashboards or reports using Excel or similar tools
  • Helping to identify trends, gaps, or opportunities to improve business operations

Interns will gain valuable exposure to how financial, contractual, and operational functions integrate to support informed decision-making within a public-sector environment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently 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 a related field.
• 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

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and organize information effectively.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred Skills (not required)

• A strong interest in organizing, analyzing, and presenting information clearly and meaningfully is highly valued.
• Experience or coursework in data analysis, databases, or reporting tools, including Microsoft Excel formulas and pivot tables.
• 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 firmly committed to the principle of fair and equal employment opportunities for its citizens and strives to protect the rights and opportunities of all people to seek, obtain, and hold employment without being subjected to illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is the State’s policy to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment of an individual because of that person’s race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status or any other category protected by state and/or federal civil rights laws.