Associate Senior Product Owner

World Bank Group • Washington, DC

16h

About The Position

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 Fiduciary Operations Unit (ITSFD) supports digital solutions for Procurement, Financial Management, and Environmental and Social Safeguards across Bank Operations. It provides integrated, efficient tools that enable borrowers and staff to ensure compliance with fiduciary requirements, financial audits, and environmental and social safeguards.

Duties and accountabilities:

Role Overview

The Associate Senior Product Owner for the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) systems is responsible for maximizing value delivery by defining, prioritizing, and managing ESF digital product features within the Information Technology Services (ITS) organization. This role ensures that ESF digital solutions effectively support due diligence, risk classification, monitoring, and reporting requirements in alignment with institutional ESF policies, compliance standards, and operational workflows.

The Associate Senior Product Owner collaborates closely with ESF specialists, Agile teams, architects, and stakeholders to translate business needs into actionable user stories. This role applies SAFe and Scrum practices to support incremental delivery, continuous improvement, and transparency across ESF product development and operations.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) with 8 years of experience or a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Understanding of ESF, safeguard systems, or compliance-driven platforms. driven platforms.
• Proven ability to translate policy requirements into system features.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, especially in fast-paced environments. paced environments. paced environments.
• Extensive understanding of the evolving technology landscape, including generative AI and agent-based systems.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with both technical teams and policy specialists.
• Ability to anticipate risks, analyze impacts, and develop mitigation actions.
• Commitment to continuous learning, innovation, and user-centered design. centered design. centered design.
• Demonstrated experience in Agile product ownership or business analysis roles.
• Strong understanding of ESF policies, compliance workflows, and environmental/social risk management.
• Experience creating user stories, acceptance criteria, and backlog structures.
• Skilled in Agile methodologies (Scrum, SAFe) and collaboration with cross functional teams. functional teams.
• Knowledge of cloud-native architecture, integration patterns, and digital workflow systems. native
• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Certifications such as CSPO, SAFe POPM, or equivalent are highly desirable.

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing multiple complex product streams with cross-dependency mapping. dependency mapping.
• Ability to influence product strategy across ESF-related digital platforms. related digital platforms.
• Advanced experience in AI-driven document review, risk analytics, or automation. driven document review, risk analytics, or automation.
• Leadership in PI Planning, ART coordination, or portfolio-level planning. level planning.
• Experience representing ITS or ESF teams in institutional governance or strategic discussions.
• Proven ability to drive modernization initiatives across compliance-focused systems. focused systems.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled analytics and low code/no code platforms (preferred). enabled analytics and low code/no code platforms (preferred). enabled analytics and low code/no code platforms (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Own, refine, and prioritize the ESF product backlog.
• Translate ESF policy and operational requirements into clear user stories with acceptance criteria.
• Ensure backlog alignment with business value, risk urgency, and technical constraints.
• Engage ESF specialists, policy teams, and operational staff to gather requirements.
• Conduct user research, feedback sessions, and validation activities.
• Ensure that ESF compliance requirements are accurately reflected in system features.
• Participate in PI Planning, sprint planning, and backlog refinement sessions.
• Collaborate with Agile teams and ARTs to ensure smooth and timely feature delivery.
• Validate that delivered increments meet functional and compliance expectations.
• Support functional, UAT, and regression testing for ESF features.
• Validate compliance-related functionalities and business workflows. related functionalities and business workflows.
• Maintain transparent communication with ESF leadership, ITS teams, and stakeholders.
• Provide updates on roadmap progress, risks, and release plans.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, governance, and security standards.
• Identify opportunities to enhance ESF workflows, automation, and system usability.
• Advocate for emerging technologies such as AI driven analytics and low code/no code tools. driven analytics and low code/no code tools. driven analytics and low code/no code tools.
• Coordinate and align delivery across multiple Agile teams supporting ESF systems.
• Ensure cross team dependencies are identified, communicated, and managed effectively.
• Facilitate collaboration across technical, functional, and operational teams to maintain synchronized delivery.
• Support teams in resolving blockers and aligning shared ESF product goals.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level