Consulting Intern

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Cedar is a Forbes ranked global management consulting firm with a heritage closely associated with the founders of the Balanced Scorecard. Since 1985, Cedar's teams have been assisting clients in areas of strategy, process, strategic human capital, and technology, with a strong focus on the financial services sector. Cedar's group unit, IBS Intelligence (www.ibsintelligence.com), based in the UK, has been the definitive source for research, news-analysis and advisory specialized in Financial Technology markets for over 30 years. Cedar Hill Capital is an independent FinTech venture capital fund with a sharp lens on B2B FinTech and Financial Services-infrastructure companies. The Innovation Lab in Dubai and Mumbai brings banks and suppliers together with an opportunity to access the relevant Middle East and India market opportunity.

This is a full-time, on-site internship role based in Dubai with a minimum duration of four months. Interns at Cedar are embedded within project teams and contribute directly to live client engagements — this is a hands-on experience, not a passive one. Working under the guidance of Consultants, Engagement Managers, and senior leadership, the Consulting Intern will support a range of activities across active engagements in the financial services sector. Strong performers may be considered for a full-time Consultant role upon program completion.

1. Research & Data Support

•  Conduct primary and secondary research to support active client engagements, including market analysis, bench-marking, and data gathering.

•  Build spreadsheet models, conduct bench-marking exercises, and synthesize findings into clear summaries.

2. Deliverable Preparation

•  Assist in the preparation of client presentations, reports, and workshop materials.

•  Support work-stream delivery under the direction of senior team members, taking ownership of specific tasks and components.

3. Client & Team Engagement

•  Participate in team meetings, client interactions, and internal workshops — preparing materials and capturing outputs.

•  Represent Cedar professionally in all internal and client-facing interactions.

4. Learning & Knowledge Contribution

•  Demonstrate a proactive approach to learning and developing knowledge of the financial services sector.

•  Contribute to the team's knowledge base through research and documentation of sector and market insights.

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in business, finance, economics, engineering, or a related discipline.
  


• Strong academic record with a genuine interest in financial services and consulting.
  


• Analytical mindset — comfortable working with numbers, data, and structured problem-solving.
  


• Clear and professional communicator, both written and verbal.
  


• Fluency in Arabic and English is mandatory.
  


• Highly motivated, detail-oriented, and eager to learn in a fast-paced environment.
  


• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) is essential.
  


• Prior exposure to financial services or the GCC market is a plus but not required.
  


• Minimum availability of four months; longer availability preferred.