Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) Associate (Internship)
Location(s): Kingston, NY & Remote
Duration: 3-6 months
Hours: Flexible. 15-18 hours a week for full time students. Eligible interns not taking classes can work up to 40 hours per week.
Compensation: $22 - $25/hour
The Organization
Mid-Hudson Energy Transition, Inc. (MHET) is a not-for-profit community-based organization that empowers municipalities, their residents, and businesses to own and share renewable energy, create healthier buildings, and join in community wealth-building to strengthen the resilience of the Hudson Valley in the face of climate change. We engage and build on the active involvement of communities, with particular emphasis on low-income and communities of color that are being harmed first and worst by climate change.
Job Summary:
The HELP Intern will support the ongoing implementation and refinement of MHET’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)—an innovative, equity-centered financing model designed to make home energy upgrades affordable and accessible for low- and moderate-income households. The intern will conduct applied research, support operational improvements, and assist in developing tools and materials to strengthen the program’s impact and scalability. The intern may also assist with tasks related to the HELP Fund, MHET’s green community investment fund, which capitalizes the loan program.
Responsibilities:
- Research:
- Conduct research on empathetic banking and equitable lending models, including community development financial institutions (CDFIs), credit unions, and other institutions that use alternative underwriting or enhanced borrower support for low- and moderate-income populations. Summarize findings in a written memo.
- Research wealth-building incentive models and create tangible financial benefits for HELP participants.
- Contribute to the creation of a financial literacy toolkit tailored to HELP borrowers, potentially including short videos and educational materials on basic personal finance concepts.
- Operational Improvements:
- Identify opportunities for automation, focusing on 3–4 repetitive, high-volume tasks, and propose low/no-code tools to increase efficiency.
- Add to pilot journal and action tracker to log weekly challenges, process observations, and improvement ideas; facilitate a monthly case debrief to capture lessons learned.
- Impact & Communications
- Support impact measurement and data management, including auditing data collection systems, ensuring accuracy of key metrics, and helping to design a dashboard for tracking program progress.
- Support development of borrower case studies based on interviews and program data, highlighting the financial, comfort, health, and environmental outcomes of completed HELP projects.
- Publish blog posts and/or short written pieces for MHET’s website, newsletter, and funder/investor communications
- HELP Fund:
- Assist with HELP Fund fundraising tasks such as events, grantwriting, prospect follow-up, marketing, where needed.
Successful candidates will have:
- Strong interest in equitable finance, community wealth-building, and sustainable housing.
- Research and analytical skills, including comfort with both qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Excellent written communication and organizational skills.
- Initiative and curiosity to explore creative solutions to systemic barriers in clean energy financing.
- Familiarity with data analysis, process mapping, or low/no-code tools is a plus.
Eligibility: Applicants are required to meet one of the following eligibility requirements:
- An individual currently attending or who attended a degree program at a college or university, located in New York State within the last 12 months as of the date of the intern application.
- A current New York State resident attending or who attended a college or university outside of New York State within the last 12 months as of the date of the intern application. New York State residency, with proof of residency such as rental agreement or utility bills, must have been established prior to the start of the internship.
- New York State residents who are members of a disadvantaged community and/or Priority Population.
To Apply: To apply, please upload your resume and cover letter to our Careers Page portal explaining your interest in clean energy and community engagement.
Learn more about NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Internship here.