Associate Product Owner - req36281

Associate Product Owner

Job #: req36281

Organization: World Bank

Sector: Information Technology

Grade: GF

Term Duration: 3 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Location: Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s): English

Preferred Language(s)

Closing Date: 4/22/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 130 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

ITS Vice Presidency Context

The Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) Vice Presidential Unit (VPU) enables the World Bank Group to achieve its mission of ending extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet by delivering transformative information and technologies to its staff working in over 150 locations. For more information on ITS, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=VTFGffa1Y7w

Department Context

ITS Operations and Country Engagement Department (ITSOE) delivers innovative products and services to frontline staff working on over 6,000 projects throughout every Region and Global Practice. Our teams support and enable Bank priorities, boost operations efficiency and effectiveness, and facilitate Operational knowledge discovery. Our delivery model leverages global expertise, design and architecture, leading technology, and robust processes to deliver business solutions that ensure value for money.

Unit Context

The Operations Effectiveness unit (ITSEF), leads efforts to enhance operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making in Bank’s Operations. To strengthen sector specific operational support, the Knowledge for Operations team within the ITSEF unit is developing sector agents, AI enabled, domain specific digital capabilities that help operational teams quickly retrieve insights, lessons, create templates, and get contextual guidance.

The Product Owner will implement the AI Sector strategy for their vertical which may include multiple sectors. They will work with sector experts to embed domain knowledge, tacit knowledge, and policy nuance into AI system prompts, workflows, and reasoning chains. The PO will ensure AI products incorporate WBG safeguards, sector policies, and operational constraints into their cognitive workflows.

The Product Owner will lead the end-to-end design, development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Sector Agents, ensuring they:

• Address real operational needs across Global Practices and Regions
• Integrate seamlessly with the K360 platform and its knowledge ecosystem
• Provide measurable value to task teams and operational leadership
• Support the broader Knowledge for Operations strategy and ITS modernization agenda
  
  

Duties And Accountabilities

• Identify high value AI opportunities across verticals, sectors by analyzing workflows, pain points, and operational bottlenecks and utilizing product discovery methodologies (e.g. Design Sprint, Discovery Workshops etc.) value AI opportunities across
• In coordination with the Product Manager, define the long-term AI vision and roadmap for agents, copilots, and multiagent systems term AI vision and roadmap for agents, copilots, and multi agent systems
• Work with development team to define requirements for model selection (frontier, open source), retrieval sources (institutional/ reputed external), prompt orchestration, and multi agent flows.
• Monitor agent performance using analytics: hallucination rates, response quality, safety triggers, domain relevance, retrieval precision, user satisfaction.
• Lead product marketing for AI/Agentic AI solutions by defining clear value propositions, benefit narratives, user stories, and sector specific impact messaging; and develop communication assets that explain agent capabilities, limitations, and responsible use principles in ways that resonate with operational audiences.
• Drive adoption and change management for AI features across K360, sector communities, and Global Practice networks by executing targeted adoption campaigns; overseeing readiness assessments, training materials, and user enablement plans; and ensuring users build trust, understanding, and confidence in AI-enabled workflows.
• Translate sector team needs to clear product requirements, features, and user journeys.
• Prioritize capabilities using data, user insights, and evolving business priorities.
• Engage with business stakeholders to fully understand their needs and challenges and translate them into viable product requirements and features.
• Develop product KPIs that are measurable, actionable, and aligned with business goals and users’ objectives.
• Actively monitor client needs, industry trends, Bank priorities, KPIs, and user feedback.
• Manage vendor engagements to support product delivery and compliance.
  
  

Deliverables

• Product Vision & Roadmap for Sector Agents
• Backlog & User Stories with acceptance criteria
• Personas & User Journey Maps reflecting sector operational needs
• Prototype, MVP, and Iterative Releases of Sector Agents
• Training Materials, Guidance, and Communication Assets
• Adoption and Performance Dashboards
• Final Project Completion Report summarizing usage, impact, and next step recommendations
  
  

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), combined with a minimum of 5 years relevant experience, or Bachelor’s degree with 7 years of product management experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI), with solid knowledge of machine learning, natural language processing, and AI-driven solution development. Proven ability to translate complex business requirements into impactful AI-enabled product features.
• Demonstrated ability to define and execute AI product strategies, including opportunity assessment, use-case prioritization, and ROI framing.
• Experience designing products that use RAG, multi agent architectures, or workflow automation using LLMs.
• Ability to translate sector knowledge (Water, Transport, Health, Education, Climate, Governance, etc.) into AI-ready workflows and features.
• Familiarity with responsible AI frameworks, human-in-the-loop design, and principles governing automated reasoning systems.
• Experience developing adoption strategies, messaging, demos, narratives, and impact stories for AI products.
• Ability to communicate AI concepts clearly to operational users, sector specialists, and senior management.
• Experience working with WBG operational platforms and workflows (preferred).
• Proven track record of successfully developing and launching technology products in large-scale environments.
• Experience managing vendor engagements.
• Proven ability to collaborate with other team members across boundaries and contribute productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view.
• Strong presentation and collaboration skills with a proven record of leading meetings and influencing stakeholders in multicultural environments.
• Passion for innovation and staying up to date with the latest technology trends.
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to changing priorities.
• Able to take personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results and has the personal organization to do so.
• Proficiency in English.
  
  

WBG Culture Attributes

• Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
• Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
• Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.
  
  

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC , including our values and inspiring stories.