Management Intern Program (MI) Eligibility

Eligibility Criteria

Please review the information on this site to learn more about the Management Intern Program. It is very important that you review the eligibility criteria before you prepare your application.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Management Intern Program you MUST:

  1. Be at the General Schedule (GS) Grade 7 level up to GS-12, OR be a Wage Grade (WG) equivalent to a GS-7 up to GS-12; AND
  2. Be a current career/career-conditional NIH employee OR be a NIH employee on a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), Schedule A (disabled) appointment or other appointment that offers non-competitive conversion by the closing date of this announcement; AND
  3. Be continuously employed by the NIH for the previous 52 weeks with no break in service within 30 days of the announcement closing date; AND
  4. Be willing to work full-time.

NOTE: Postdoctoral Fellows, Summer and Student Employees, Contractors, Commission Officers, TERM and Title 42 employees, unfortunately, are NOT eligible for this program. The NIH MI program is an internal merit promotion career opportunities program that is designed to provide career opportunities to current NIH staff competitive service (career or career-conditional status) or meet the Schedule A or VEOA requirements. In order for Title 42 applicants to gain career/career-conditional status, they need to compete via general schedule (GS) vacancy announcements. Title 42 candidates can apply to any of competitive/delegated examining announcements and programs that are open to all US Citizens and for which s/he meets the qualification and education, if applicable, requirements. Such programs include the Presidential Management Fellows Program. The Management Intern Program is NOT such a program.

GS-Level and Pay

ALL applicants will retain their current salary; however, applicants at the GS-8, 10 and 12 level will be required to take a voluntary change to a lower grade to enter the program.

Please note that your GS-level (Time-in-Grade) must be met no later than 30 days from the application closing date. In other words, the GS-level of your start in the MI Program by August will be the same as that of your highest time-in-grade within 30 days of the application closing date in April. Applicants who receive promotions after April and prior to August will be brought in at the grade for which s/he applied – but with retained pay.

Additional Questions

For additional information on eligibility and qualifications, please visit the FAQs page. You may also contact the HR Specialist listed on the job application when it is available. We also strongly encourage you to attend an information session where an extensive question-and-answer session will take place with potential applicants.

Please visit our Application Process page for more information on the application process and program deadlines.

Contact Information

Receive important recruitment announcements for the Management Intern Program via our listserv. When currently recruiting, these announcements and notices will keep you abreast.

Join the Management Intern Recruitment Information listserv.

For additional information, please contact us by e-mail or phone: