Digital & AI Specialist
Sector:
Digital Development
Term Duration:
3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type:
Local Recruitment
Location:
New Delhi,India
Required Language(s):
English
Closing Date:
8/19/2026 (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 120 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, www.worldbank.org
Unit(s) Context
The South Asia Region
The South Asia Region comprises six countries (India, Bhutan, , Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) that range in size from India (with a population of over 1 billion) to Maldives (with 0.3 million people). The region has experienced a long period of robust economic growth, averaging 6% a year over the past 20 years. This strong growth has translated into reducing extreme poverty and strong improvements in human development. At the same time, the region remains home to one-third of the world’s poorest, and persistent structural challenges threaten to undermine sustained growth, hindering the region’s ability to create jobs and respond to climate shocks.
The South Asia Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar
Digital & AI Vice Presidency
Digital technologies offer a unique opportunity to transform development through digital solutions. The Digital & AI Vice Presidency and its global and regional teams will support client countries in building the foundational and cross-cutting elements of digital transformation through:
Building broadband connectivity infrastructure, last mile access and data platforms (including last mile connectivity and data infrastructure)- Strengthening digital public infrastructure (DPI), including digital ID, data sharing, verifiable credentials and digitalizing government services that improve accountability and transparency
- Protecting institutions, businesses, and citizens through cybersecurity and data protection & privacy
- Developing ICT sectors and supporting digital entrepreneurship, skills, and jobs
- Enabling AI-ready economies by supporting governments in building the policy, regulatory, data, and infrastructure foundations needed to harness AI responsibly and at scale
- Supporting the Vice presidencies of People, Prosperity, Planet, and Infrastructure in the digitalization efforts of their clients, and in leveraging digital solutions, including building client sectoral digital capacity, defining and implementing sectoral specific AI strategies, and designing AI-powered solutions
For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/digital
The roles and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
The Opportunity
The World Bank Group’s (WBG) engagement on digital development is rapidly growing in the South Asia region (SAR) in response to increased client demand for knowledge, technical assistance, and financing. The overall SAR Digital agenda aims to enhance the speed, scale, and impact of the WBG’s support to enable countries to make the most of digital opportunities and address emerging challenges in an effective and agile manner.
SAR Digital Unit is looking for a Digital & AI Specialist to be based in New Delhi, India. The position will report to the South Asia Regional Practice Manager for Digital & AI and work with the Digital & AI team in India, as with other team members based globally.
The Specialist will bring hands-on expertise in the design, architecture, and deployment of AI systems in the public sector. Beyond policy and regulatory advice, the role requires the ability to guide governments through the full lifecycle of AI adoption - from use-case identification and feasibility assessment, through solution architecture, data readiness, model selection and procurement, to responsible deployment, monitoring, and scaling. A particular focus will be on applying AI to development challenges in sectors such as health, agriculture, education, social protection, and service delivery, and on building the technical capacity of client institutions to sustain these solutions
More specifically, the roles and responsibilities are to:
The Digital & AI Specialist, together with the Digital & AI Team in India, and the broader team will be responsible for Supporting client engagements in India and supervising activities in the sector as a technical expert. These include
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.
Selection Criteria
- 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
WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. 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.
