Employer: MHA Management Holdings
Industry: Financial Services, Long-Term Funeral Insurance, Data Engineering, Analytics & Applied AI
Department: Data & AI Team
Location: Bedfordview, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa (On-Site)
Position Type: Fixed-Term Graduate Internship Programme (Clear Development Path to Data & AI Engineer)
Target Candidates: Recent Graduates / Final-Year Students in Data Science, Computer Science, IT, Stats, Maths, or Engineering
EE Status: Employment Equity / Affirmative Action (EE/AA)
Compensation: Market-Related Corporate Internship Allowance
Posted Date: 24 October 2026
About MHA Management Holdings & The Data Internship
MHA Management Holdings is an established financial services leader with 30 years of operational experience in the South African long-term insurance market, delivering client-centric funeral insurance solutions across trade union networks.
MHA’s Data & AI team runs a governed, production-first Microsoft data estate featuring on-premises SQL Server, Azure SQL, Microsoft Fabric (Medallion architecture), Power BI/SSRS reporting, Python data pipelines, and Azure DevOps CI/CD.
MHA is recruiting a motivated Graduate: Data Intern to join their data engineering and analytics pathway in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. This structured graduate program serves as a direct feeder into a permanent Data & AI Engineer role. Interns will work under mentorship on live production data, learning SQL extraction, Python scripting, Power BI dashboarding, Medallion data architecture, job monitoring, data reconciliation, and responsible AI evaluation workflows under strict POPIA compliance.
Key Responsibilities & Data Engineering Workflows
The Data Graduate will execute seven core operational deliverables under senior technical mentorship:
1. Data Preparation & Python/SQL Scripting
- Data Prep: Assist with data extraction, cleaning, validation, and preparation for business intelligence and reporting use cases.
- Scripting: Write and support SQL queries, Python scripts, and repeatable data processing tasks under supervision.
2. Power BI Reporting & Dashboard Maintenance
- Dashboard Development: Help design, maintain, and update interactive reports and dashboards in Power BI and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
3. Pipeline Monitoring & Data Quality Assurance
- Job Tracking: Support the monitoring of scheduled data pipelines—spotting job failures, gathering diagnostic facts, and logging issues correctly.
- Data Reconciliations: Participate in data quality audits, reconciliations, and issue logging to ensure data integrity across the Medallion architecture (Bronze/Silver/Gold layers).
4. Documentation & Governance
- Technical Docs: Maintain source-to-target mappings, data dictionaries, process notes, and testing evidence.
- POPIA & Security: Strict adherence to data privacy (POPIA/FSP environment), change management rules, and security governance from day one.
Candidate Profile & Technical Entry Requirements
To qualify for consideration, applicants must meet the following mandatory academic and technical criteria:
- Core Technical Skills (MANDATORY BASICS):
- Basic understanding of SQL queries and relational data concepts (Mandatory).
- Foundational exposure to Python or another programming language (gained through coursework or personal projects) (Mandatory).
- Comfortable working with spreadsheets, data structures, and basic quantitative problem-solving.
- Educational Qualifications:
- Qualification completed or in progress in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline (Advantageous).
- Portfolio & Stack Awareness:
- Advantageous: Exposure to Power BI, SSRS, cloud platforms (Microsoft Fabric/Azure), Git, Jupyter notebooks, or ETL concepts.
- Advantageous: Project portfolio, capstone project, or hackathon evidence demonstrating data problem-solving skills.
- Personal Attributes:
- High attention to detail, strong data privacy awareness (POPIA), clear written and verbal communication, and a strong appetite for follow-through.
Application Guidelines & Online Submission
- Prepare Document Package:
- Detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting your SQL, Python, and data project experience (include GitHub or portfolio links if available).
- Certified Copy of South African ID Document or Passport.
- Certified Copies of Tertiary Qualifications & Official Academic Transcripts.
- Online Portal: Submit your application directly via the official MHA Management Holdings Careers Portal.
- Closing Date: Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis; early submission is strongly recommended.
Sample Selection & Data Engineering Interview Questions
SQL, Medallion Architecture & Data Governance
- Question (SQL & Reconciliations): “How do you write a SQL query to identify duplicate records or missing values when reconciling raw transaction data against a target staging table?”
- Question (Data Pipelines & Governance): “Why is it essential to log error details and maintain clear source-to-target mapping documentation when a scheduled ETL job fails in a regulated financial environment?”
How to Apply
Apply online directly via the official MHA Management Holdings Careers Portal:
- Employer: MHA Management Holdings
- Location: Bedfordview, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Position: Graduate: Data Intern (Data Engineering & BI)
- Target Group: Graduates/Students in Data Science, CS, IT, Stats, Maths, Engineering