What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior IT Program Officer (ITSDA) - req36512 position at The World Bank Group?
Senior IT Program Officer (ITSDA)
Job #: req36512
Organization: World Bank
Sector: Information Technology
Grade: GG
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Location: Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s): English
Preferred Language(s)
Closing Date: 5/8/2026 (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
Unit Context
The ITS Data Office (ITSDO) is the central entity within the World Bank Group’s Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) department responsible for enabling data, AI, information, and knowledge capabilities across the institution. It comprises four Units focused on platforms & tools, product & service delivery, enablement and governance. The office plays a pivotal role in advancing the Bank’s digital transformation, supporting business domains with trusted data, information and AI capabilities, and fostering a culture of responsible innovation.
The Product & Services Delivery Unit (ISTDA) leads the design, development, and operational delivery of integrated products and services across data, AI, archives, and publishing. Key areas of focus include adopting a programmatic, customer-centric approach to delivery (treating initiatives as structured programs with clear benefits, agile execution, and measurable outcomes), ensuring that production services are responsive and aligned with business priorities through SLA-based service management, and contributing to enablement of citizen data science and AI adoption.
The Platforms & Tools Unit (ITSAI) is responsible for building, integrating, and continuously modernizing the foundational technology infrastructure that powers data, AI, archives, and knowledge services across the World Bank Group. The unit leads the rationalization and simplification of legacy systems, and modernization towards platforms that are scalable, secure, interoperable, and designed for self-service and adoption. The unit plays a critical role in enabling enterprise-wide transformation by delivering data environments, digitization infrastructure, and open knowledge repositories that are AI-ready and aligned with business needs.
The Governance Unit (ITSIG) is the strategic driver of trust, agility, and responsible innovation in the organization’s data, information, and AI landscape. The unit develops and oversees governance frameworks, policies, and stewardship models that enable the Bank to maximize the value of its data and information. By embedding governance into product and service delivery, platform design, and business engagement, the unit positions governance as a catalyst for AI transformation and business impact. The Unit also fosters partnerships and thought leadership, ensuring the Bank remains at the forefront of global best practices in data, information, and AI governance.
The Enablement Unit (ITSAE) is dedicated to uplifting the World Bank Group’s enterprise maturity in data, information, and AI by driving technology-related capability-building, adoption, and innovation in the business areas across the institution. This unit leads the design and delivery of literacy programs, self-service platforms and practices, and citizen enablement initiatives, ensuring that staff and business units are empowered to leverage data, AI and knowledge technology responsibly and effectively. Through strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and community-building, the Enablement Unit fosters a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and collaboration.
Duties And Accountabilities
Role Purpose:
The Senior IT Program Officer drives program-level execution discipline across the unit. The role standardizes how projects and products are planned, tracked, and reported. Ensure alignment between strategic objectives, delivery plans, and execution cadence Track priorities, dependencies, risks, and actions across the portfolio. Ensure stakeholders receive timely, coherent, and decision-ready information. This position sits with unit leadership to ensure consistency, visibility, and accountability across teams. It connects strategy to execution by introducing practical frameworks for planning, prioritization, and delivery oversight.
The goal is simple: reduce chaos, improve predictability, and give management a clear view of progress, risks, and trade-offs.
Role Scope & Distinction
This is a unit-level role with a cross-cutting mandate. It operates across multiple teams, products, and projects, focusing on how work gets managed rather than owning delivery of a single initiative.
Scope
Program Management Framework
Typically requires a Master’s degree with 8 years of experience or a Bachelors degree with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Core Skills And Capabilities
Awareness: A general understanding of the skill, but due to minimal practical experience, requires extensive guidance and supervision.
Skilled: Practical working experience in this area, allowing it to be applied in basic routine situations with minimal guidance or supervision.
Advanced: Extensive experience and knowledge in this area, applying it independently to new and complex situations. Can provide guidance to others.
Expert: Exceptional technical knowhow, responsible for setting organizational strategy in this area. Seen as a thought leader in this space, reviewing external/industry trends and applying this best practice in the organization.
WBG Culture Attributes
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.
Job #: req36512
Organization: World Bank
Sector: Information Technology
Grade: GG
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Location: Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s): English
Preferred Language(s)
Closing Date: 5/8/2026 (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
Unit Context
The ITS Data Office (ITSDO) is the central entity within the World Bank Group’s Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) department responsible for enabling data, AI, information, and knowledge capabilities across the institution. It comprises four Units focused on platforms & tools, product & service delivery, enablement and governance. The office plays a pivotal role in advancing the Bank’s digital transformation, supporting business domains with trusted data, information and AI capabilities, and fostering a culture of responsible innovation.
The Product & Services Delivery Unit (ISTDA) leads the design, development, and operational delivery of integrated products and services across data, AI, archives, and publishing. Key areas of focus include adopting a programmatic, customer-centric approach to delivery (treating initiatives as structured programs with clear benefits, agile execution, and measurable outcomes), ensuring that production services are responsive and aligned with business priorities through SLA-based service management, and contributing to enablement of citizen data science and AI adoption.
The Platforms & Tools Unit (ITSAI) is responsible for building, integrating, and continuously modernizing the foundational technology infrastructure that powers data, AI, archives, and knowledge services across the World Bank Group. The unit leads the rationalization and simplification of legacy systems, and modernization towards platforms that are scalable, secure, interoperable, and designed for self-service and adoption. The unit plays a critical role in enabling enterprise-wide transformation by delivering data environments, digitization infrastructure, and open knowledge repositories that are AI-ready and aligned with business needs.
The Governance Unit (ITSIG) is the strategic driver of trust, agility, and responsible innovation in the organization’s data, information, and AI landscape. The unit develops and oversees governance frameworks, policies, and stewardship models that enable the Bank to maximize the value of its data and information. By embedding governance into product and service delivery, platform design, and business engagement, the unit positions governance as a catalyst for AI transformation and business impact. The Unit also fosters partnerships and thought leadership, ensuring the Bank remains at the forefront of global best practices in data, information, and AI governance.
The Enablement Unit (ITSAE) is dedicated to uplifting the World Bank Group’s enterprise maturity in data, information, and AI by driving technology-related capability-building, adoption, and innovation in the business areas across the institution. This unit leads the design and delivery of literacy programs, self-service platforms and practices, and citizen enablement initiatives, ensuring that staff and business units are empowered to leverage data, AI and knowledge technology responsibly and effectively. Through strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and community-building, the Enablement Unit fosters a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and collaboration.
Duties And Accountabilities
Role Purpose:
The Senior IT Program Officer drives program-level execution discipline across the unit. The role standardizes how projects and products are planned, tracked, and reported. Ensure alignment between strategic objectives, delivery plans, and execution cadence Track priorities, dependencies, risks, and actions across the portfolio. Ensure stakeholders receive timely, coherent, and decision-ready information. This position sits with unit leadership to ensure consistency, visibility, and accountability across teams. It connects strategy to execution by introducing practical frameworks for planning, prioritization, and delivery oversight.
The goal is simple: reduce chaos, improve predictability, and give management a clear view of progress, risks, and trade-offs.
Role Scope & Distinction
This is a unit-level role with a cross-cutting mandate. It operates across multiple teams, products, and projects, focusing on how work gets managed rather than owning delivery of a single initiative.
Scope
- Covers all programs and projects within the unit, spanning multiple product lines and technical teams
- Influences planning, prioritization, execution tracking, and reporting practices across the board
- Works directly with unit leadership and engages with product owners, technical leads, and delivery teams
- Has visibility into the full portfolio, including dependencies, risks, and resource constraints.
- Senior professional recognized as a subject matter expert in the job area.
- Routinely leads complex projects and integrates work of other (often multi-disciplinary) professional staff and contributes to strategy, analysis and policy formulation.
- Identifies and evaluates overall systemic issues and analyzes complex issues.
- Collaborates and partners with internal stakeholders on matters of strategic importance for the area of focus, may interact with external stakeholders to support department objectives.
- Provides guidance, coaching, and training to more junior staff within the job area, serving as a subject matter expert resource for other professionals.
- Requires comprehensive and in-depth expertise either in a broad area of specialization or in a narrowly specialized field.
Program Management Framework
- Define and implement a standardized approach to program and project management across teams
- Develop and enforce common templates for planning, roadmaps, status tracking, reporting, and value streaming
- Establish clear governance practices that teams can follow without friction
- Introduce structured methods for prioritization aligned with unit and organizational goals
- Work with product owners and solution architects to rationalize competing demands
- Ensure roadmaps are realistic, transparent, and regularly updated
- Define a consistent approach to managing scope changes and preventing uncontrolled scope creep
- Support teams in evaluating trade-offs between scope, timeline, and resources
- Escalate and resolve conflicts when priorities shift
- Track progress, including key performance indicators (KPI) across multiple projects and products, and identifying risks early
- Ensure dependencies across teams are visible and actively managed
- Drive corrective actions when delivery deviates from plan
- Work closely with unit leadership, product teams, and solution architects
- Act as a coordination layer across teams to reduce silos and misalignment
- Support leadership in preparing reviews, planning cycles, and strategic discussions
- Identify gaps in current practices and implement pragmatic improvements
- Promote a culture of accountability, ownership, and delivery focus
- Ensure frameworks evolve based on feedback and actual usage, not theory
- Act as the air traffic controller, lead the management the flow of work, including the collection, coordination, and reporting of initiatives and updates.
- Oversee following through on actions, decisions, and commitments with leaders and teams.
- Accompany leaders, when appropriate, to surface and distill action items and maintain strategic awareness on organizational and cross-organizational matters.
- Advise and shape leadership decision-making by managing content preparation, enabling rapid review and informed strategic choices.
- Steer leadership communications, oversee deadlines, and serve as an information source for stakeholders.
- When appropriate, serve as the final point of clearance for respective organizational materials ensuring accuracy, consistency, and effectiveness—and advise or mobilize teams if further consideration or adjustments are required.
- Proven expertise designing and implementing project and program management frameworks, governance practices, and delivery standards across multi-team environments.
- Demonstrated ability to manage portfolio-wide execution: tracking risks, dependencies, KPIs, and driving accountability across complex, cross-functional programs.
- Expert-level skills in planning, prioritization, and stakeholder engagement, with a track record of translating strategy into structured, measurable delivery plans.
- Strong communication and advisory skills; able to prepare executive-level reporting, influence without direct authority, and support senior leadership decision-making.
- Solid understanding of data, information and AI field.
Typically requires a Master’s degree with 8 years of experience or a Bachelors degree with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Core Skills And Capabilities
- Program and portfolio management framework design (Expert)
- Cross-team planning and roadmap alignment (Expert)
- Prioritization frameworks (value vs effort, risk-based, etc.) (Expert)
- Execution tracking and delivery oversight (Expert)
- Risk and dependency management across teams (Expert)
- Executive-level reporting and communication (Expert)
- Change management and adoption of new practices (Expert)
- Stakeholder Engagement (Expert)
- Building Relationships (Expert)
- Communicating Effectively (Expert)
- Data-driven performance tracking and KPI definition (Advanced)
- Use of program/project delivery tools (e.g., Azure DevOps, Jira) (Advanced)
- Product Development Life Cycle (Advanced)
- Influencing Others (Expert)
- Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) (Advanced)
- Strategic Communication (Advanced)
- Business Acumen (Expert)
- Digital Literacy (Advanced)
- Operational Excellence (Expert)
- Advising (Expert)
- Design Thinking (Advanced)
- Influencing Skills (Expert)
- Strategic and Tactical Planning (Expert)
- Leading Others (Advanced)
- Thought Leadership (Advanced)
- SAFe Agilist (SA)
- SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager, a plus
- Project Management (PMP)
- Digital Transformation Certifications
- Organizational Change Management Certifications
- Design Thinking Certifications
Awareness: A general understanding of the skill, but due to minimal practical experience, requires extensive guidance and supervision.
Skilled: Practical working experience in this area, allowing it to be applied in basic routine situations with minimal guidance or supervision.
Advanced: Extensive experience and knowledge in this area, applying it independently to new and complex situations. Can provide guidance to others.
Expert: Exceptional technical knowhow, responsible for setting organizational strategy in this area. Seen as a thought leader in this space, reviewing external/industry trends and applying this best practice in the organization.
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.
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.