Education Technology Specialist

World Bank Group•Washington, DC

About The Position

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 and promoting shared prosperity. 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, visit www.worldbank.org. VPU Context: THE LCR REGION – PEOPLE AND EDUCATION The Bank's LCR Regional Vice Presidency has placed People and Human Development, including education, at the heart of its engagement to eliminate poverty on a livable planet. The LCR People team is led by a Director and encompasses three units (Health, Nutrition and Population; Social and Protection, and Education) with about 90 professionals helping the region to achieve better human capital outcomes. Unit Context: Countries in the LAC region have taken great strides in education in the past few decades, but surprisingly large challenges remain: Learning poverty is at 52 percent; access to quality early childhood education for vulnerable and poor families are highly inadequate; learning in secondary education trails substantially learning in OECD countries (by an average of five years in math). Drop out and insufficient access to upper secondary and higher education implies that youth in LCR face an unnecessary difficult transition to the labor market, and more than 25 million youth are not in education and not in jobs in the region. Lastly, the Latin American and Caribbean region suffers from a 100-year under-investment into technical and STEM skills to drive technology adoption. The World Bank LCR Education Unit focuses on helping countries build the human capital required for economic growth and social development by providing analytical products, technical and financial support. To overcome these challenges, the LAC Education Unit supports countries in developing and implementing strategies for learning at all levels of education from childhood to tertiary. Teams work closely with countries to improve their systems of delivery, promote equality in education, and foster better management. We also work closely with education colleagues from other regions of the World Bank as well as colleagues in other sectors. We take pride in provision of intensive implementation support to our client governments, seek to collaborate with WBG colleagues to offer integrated development solutions across sectors, and partner with other financiers, civil society, and academia to provide the most effective support possible. The LCR Education Unit is seeking an Education technology Specialist to contribute to the Bank’s Education engagement in the region with a specific focus on advancing adoption of Education technologies to promote learning and employability. The Education Specialist will strengthen the LCR Education Unit’s operational and analytical capacity on digital learning (EdTech) and core project operations, providing timely, pragmatic support to country teams and Task Team Leaders (TTLs) and contributing to the unit’s growing portfolio on digital learning, skills, and delivery systems.

Requirements

Advanced degree (master’s or Ph.D.) in Education, Economics, or relevant field.
Minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience or equivalent combination of education and experience, with a focus on Education Technology and its implementation. A cutting-edge understanding of how AI is changing the education processes and systems in World, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Experience with the Bank’s on-going regional and global program in EdTech, such as Ai for literacy, Innovation Award, Learning platforms, and associated evaluations.
Up-to-date experience with implementation of EdTech solutions at scale in Latin America, preferably within Bank operations.
Strong connections with global EdTech partners, including Tech/AI companies as well as development partners, with preference for partners that are active in LAC. This includes a track record of forming trustful partnerships.
Demonstrated ability to conduct policy dialogues with clients.
Track record of designing and extensively supporting implementation of education reforms. Preference is given to candidate with experience in the countries of the tasks, including countries in the Eastern Caribbean and South America.
Operational experience, including WBG experience with operational instruments and reporting requirements.
Excellent experience collaborating with multiple teams to build capacity and implement EdTech solutions within Bank-supported projects.
Ability to undertake analytical tasks that inform operations

Responsibilities

Provide strategic and targeted support to the unit on EdTech as part of the regional EdTech team
Implement the FY25 Innovation Award on AI in education in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Supervise and help implement context-appropriate technical products for digital learning—such as policy notes, implementation roadmaps, and operational guidelines—tailored to country and regional needs.
Provide in-time advisory support to country teams on digital learning strategies, teacher digital competencies, content curation, platforms/interoperability, device/connectivity approaches, and EdTech-enabled remedial and foundational learning.
Offer pragmatic and actionable inputs to enhance design quality, implementation feasibility, and scaling pathways for digital learning initiatives, including coordination with global and regional EdTech companies as well as with development partners, and cross-sectoral teams.
Contribute to analytics and knowledge, including help distill lessons learned and good practices from LCR operations to inform guidance notes, toolkits, and knowledge events.
Co-lead the Brazil Ai for literacy analytical and TA program
Co-lead operations in the Caribbean that aim to improve education and learning through EdTech, including operations in the Eastern Caribbean.
Contribute to tasks across the LCR Education portfolio as needed, including support to other countries, events, workshops, and reporting requirements.

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.

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