Digital & AI Specialist

Responsibilities

• Support policy dialogue with senior government officials, coordinate across relevant government agencies, development partners and other World Bank Global Departments and verticals.
• Contribute to the design, preparation and supervision of World Bank Group financed investment and policy reform programs on digital and AI, with a particular emphasis on (i) strengthening infrastructure for an AI ready economy, including data centres and cloud, by leveraging private sector investments, (ii) Design and implementation of digital public infrastructure systems for citizen centric service delivery Advise clients on strategies, best practices and design of programs to develop the foundations of their digital economies. This may include participating in technical assistance activities and providing just-in-time technical and strategic expertise on the design of the overall policy, that includes designing national AI strategies, AI governance and regulatory frameworks, data governance regimes, and AI ethics and responsible AI policies that are contextually appropriate for developing country contexts.
• Liaise and provide guidance to colleagues working in other sectors (including agriculture, health, education, energy, financial services, transport, etc.) on how to leverage digital technologies and AI to improve public service delivery and efficiency in the respective sectors and to stimulate digital innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in those sectors by private sector actors.
• Provide technical leadership on the design and deployment of AI solutions in government, including solution architecture, data pipelines and data readiness assessments, choice of models and platforms (including open-source and frontier models), cloud/compute arrangements, integration with digital public infrastructure, and MLOps/deployment practices appropriate for public sector environments.
• Advise clients on sectoral AI applications for development — e.g., AI for health diagnostics and supply chains, agricultural advisory services, personalized learning, social protection targeting and G2P delivery — including assessing use-case feasibility, cost, risks, and pathways to scale.
• Support clients in operationalizing responsible AI in deployed systems, including bias testing, safety evaluations, human-in-the-loop design, grievance redress, and post-deployment monitoring.
• Contribute to building client-side technical capacity for AI adoption, including institutional arrangements (e.g., AI units/centers of excellence), procurement approaches for AI systems, and talent and skills strategies.

Skillset

• Master’s degree in telecommunications, engineering, computer science, data science, artificial intelligence/machine learning, law, economics, public policy, or related field, with a minimum of 5 years of experience in digital transformation and/or AI – including the design, deployment, or oversight of AI/ML systems, and/or digital economy policy, regulation, or project design and implementation – or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience and successes in policy dialogue and operations related to digital public infrastructure, AI and data governance, broadband connectivity, and its intersection with one or more development outcomes in health, financial inclusion, social protection, education, and/or gender.
• Good understanding of role of private sector in digital infrastructure and familiarity with structuring arrangements between public and private sector investors
• Knowledge of digital technology, including AI trends and risks, relevant to socio-economic development.
• Proven experience leading policy dialogue in countries with limited capacity and influencing reforms that enable digital transformation.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in the deployment of AI/ML systems — ideally in the public sector or for development applications — covering solution architecture, data engineering and governance, model development or adaptation (including use of large language models), and production deployment and monitoring.
• Practical knowledge of the technical building blocks of AI systems: cloud and compute infrastructure, data platforms, APIs and integration with government systems/DPI, and MLOps practices; ability to evaluate technical proposals and vendor solutions on behalf of clients.
• Experience designing or advising on sector-specific AI applications (e.g., health, agriculture, education, social protection, financial inclusion), including assessing feasibility, total cost of ownership, and risks in low-capacity settings.
• Familiarity with responsible AI practices in deployment — model evaluation, bias and safety testing, explainability, and monitoring — and ability to translate AI governance principles into implementable system requirements.
• Ability to think strategically about the role of digital and AI technologies in other sectors and (more generally) the economy.
• Excellent analytical and statistical skills, in data and evidence-based reforms, using metrics and indicators to determine numeric reform targets, take stock of developments over time, and use data driven results monitoring as an instrument to advance reforms. Combines a broad grasp of the relevant theory and principles and of involved practices and precedent.
• Strong client engagement skills, taking responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or project success.
• Excellent written communication skills as demonstrated in a proven track record of effectively delivering technical information in appropriate language to clients, the international development community, academia, and internal working groups.
• Excellent presentation skills, using charts, graphs and other data presentation techniques appropriately to communicate data, technical information, or complex concepts to non-specialists.
• Strong drive for results, taking initiative to stay abreast of innovations in the sector
• Ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results.
• Strong business judgment and analytical decision making, analyzing facts and data to support sound and logical business decisions.
• Proven ability to function effectively as a team member of multi-disciplinary teams, mentor staff, and resolve conflicts constructively.
• Proficiency in English is essential