Manager, Corporate Digital Backbone (ITSCD)

World Bank Group•Washington, DC

About The Position

Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity to help client countries 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 poverty on a livable planet. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, the World Bank Group works with public and private partners, invests in groundbreaking projects and uses data, research, and technology to develop solutions to pressing global, regional and local challenges. For more information, please visit http://www.worldbank.org. The organization has undertaken an ambitious exercise to revise its mandate, products and structure to adjust to the multiple, intertwined crises affecting the world today (see Evolution Roadmap), in the move to becoming a better Bank. The mission of the Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) Vice Presidential Unit (VPU) is to leverage information and technology as a force multiplier to accelerate, deepen, and sustain development impact. Their vision is to harness information and technology for a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For more information on ITS, check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=VTFGffa1Y7w. The WBG Corporate Solutions Department (ITSCO) is focused on the digital transformation of essential corporate services to ensure WBG operations are seamless, resilient, and future‑ready. Uniting digitalization roadmaps, experience design, process optimization, application delivery, systems management, and technology modernization across some 170 products and services, the department links business ambition with operational excellence—from intuitive employee experiences and precision payroll to data-driven decision making, intelligent automation, and AI enablement. Operating from Washington, Chennai, Sofia, and Singapore in a global delivery model, the team seeks to combine disciplined strategic planning with focused roadmaps, agile product delivery, design‑forward innovation, digital engineering, automation, and AI to produce solutions that are engaging, impactful, and efficient. The goal is a unified, OneWBG corporate backbone—streamlined, connected, and adaptive—that empowers leaders, staff, partners, and shareholders with the processes, capabilities, and insights to advance the WBG's mission at scale. The Corporate Digital Backbone unit serves as both the steward and transformation catalyst for the World Bank Group’s broad corporate technology portfolio of approximately 170 applications. This diverse landscape—spanning on-premises enterprise‑class ERP systems, cloud‑based SaaS offerings, specialized vendor tools, and custom solutions built on multiple stacks—forms the digital backbone of the institution’s corporate functions. The unit guides the modernization, consolidation, and integration of these systems to create a unified, secure, and future‑ready application ecosystem. The unit provides application frameworks and digital capabilities for the product teams across the department to leverage for accelerated delivery. Balancing operational stability with an agenda for bold renewal of the corporate application portfolio, the unit will harness modern development practices, platform unification, advanced integration, and automation to deliver resilient and interconnected capabilities. By embedding data, analytics, and AI into the fabric of the corporate application portfolio—and by driving developer efficiency through agile methods, streamlined DevOps pipelines, low/no/pro‑code tooling, and AI‑enabled coding—the unit will enable intelligent decision‑making, faster delivery, and greater organizational agility. Alongside modernization, the unit will proactively manage technology risk and reduce technical debt to safeguard performance and ensure sustainability over time. The use of the “autonomous backbone” and responsible agentic-AI will streamline and connect corporate functions and empower the WBG with timely insights, improved interoperability, and the technology agility required to drive innovation, efficiency, and sustained mission impact across the WBG’s corporate landscape.

Requirements

A master’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or other related disciplines with 10+ years relevant experience; or a bachelor's degree with 15+ years relevant experience.
Candidates must possess certification in Agile methodologies with demonstrated expertise in Agile practices, specifically requiring SAFe Agilist (SA), SAFe Product Manager/Product Owner (POPM), or similar qualifications.
Ten-plus years in leadership roles in application delivery, software architecture, enterprise integration, and technology management for large global enterprises, ideally working on corporate business solutions (human resources, budget and planning, corporate procurement, employee engagement, etc).
Proven expertise with application modernization strategies, including portfolio rationalization, application lifecycle management, legacy system transformation, cloud adoption, and platform integration.
Proven expertise with modern developer tools, application frameworks, cloud-native practices, DevOps, agile approaches (agile, DevOps, CI/CD, low‑/no‑code, AI-assisted development), and automation at scale, that yield measurable improvements in developer productivity and application efficiency.
Proven expertise in managing line of business data and analytics functions to ensure robust, secure, and fit for purpose data governance, management, and use in corporate systems containing sensitive data, e.g. personnel or budget data.
Experience with machine learning and AI technologies and their use in business applications.
Proven expertise with enterprise integration platforms that can connect and orchestrate disparate software systems, applications, and data to work together seamlessly, enabling efficient data exchange, automated business processes, and a unified view of operations.
Deep experience with enterprise software, such as Oracle PeopleSoft ERP, SAP ERP, Microsoft Power Platform, Adobe Experience Platform, SaaS solutions, Azure, AWS, Google, and other leading enterprise cloud platforms and technologies.
Proven track record managing risk, business continuity, security, and compliance for critical business systems; ensuring safety, reliability, and efficient operations, including governance and change management; and managing and passing audits (e.g. ICFR).
Proven experience leading multidisciplinary, technical, distributed teams and vendors, building high-performance cultures focused on impact, iteration, and continuous improvement with global scaled agile IT delivery model.
Proven ability to effectively partner with technology stakeholders and vendors to build strong partnerships, foster good governance, ensure strategic business/IT alignment, and transform relationships.
Strong collaborator with outstanding interpersonal and diplomatic skills, including the ability to facilitate, negotiate, and influence successful outcomes. Ability to influence decision makers through collaboration, education, and working partnerships.
Strong business acumen and judgment—able to simplify complex concepts, prioritize investments for value, and deliver results under pressure.
A deep passion for the mission of the WBG.

Nice To Haves

Post-graduate coursework in digital technology, enterprise technology, technology architecture, emerging technology, information technology, innovation, AI, technical entrepreneurship, business management, or related subjects is preferred.
Certifications in technology including Solutions Architecture Certifications (e.g. AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect), PMP, ITIL, Cloud, AI, or other industry certifications are desirable.

Responsibilities

Guide the technology direction for the WBG's corporate application portfolio through the creation of a strategic roadmap for unifying, modernizing, and optimizing the portfolio to enhance agility, manage risk, increase efficiency, and reduce cost.
Partner with business leaders and technology stakeholders to generate thought leadership, strengthen engagement, and co-create technology priorities for the corporate portfolio consistent with leading technology governance and investment frameworks (e.g. SAFe LPM).
Create structured application modernization roadmaps for WBG corporate functions that sequence transformation priorities, manage interdependencies across applications, and identify cross-cutting areas for maximum institutional impact.
Lead the lifecycle management of approximately 170 corporate applications — from legacy on‑premises systems, cloud‑based SaaS platforms, and custom builds — ensuring they remain robust, secure, audit-ready, and fit‑for‑purpose during their modernization.
Ensure the optimization of application development and maintenance practices for the corporate portfolio by driving the adoption of modern tools and processes, including AI‑assisted development, process automation, and real‑time analytics, to measure and enhance developer productivity, application delivery efficiency, and business value
Embed data, analytics, and AI into the fabric of the application portfolio to streamline deployment across all 170 products and services, eliminating duplication, and accelerating business velocity and value.
Oversee system integration, unified data flows, and architectural simplification to create a secure, interoperable, and autonomous backbone — powered by automation and agentic-AI — that supports consistent, intelligent operations across the WBG corporate portfolio.
Achieve delivery excellence and ensure all portfolio initiatives, including the capital budget program, are managed to budget, timelines, and expected quality standards by understanding, quantifying and communicating impact, milestones, interdependence and value measures and playing a leadership role in managing risk, removing impediments, and ensuring interventions and escalations are meeting the overarching goals of the organization.
Implement strong governance and proactive risk management to safeguard corporate application health, reduce technical debt, and ensure that the modernized ecosystem remains resilient, scalable, and adaptive to evolving business priorities.
Form and develop a high‑performing, globally distributed team (Washington, Chennai, Sofia, Singapore, and other locations), setting clear objectives, coaching for growth, and enabling career development and succession planning.
Increase organizational resilience by equipping staff with the mindsets, tools, and support systems needed to adapt to continuous changes, maintain productivity under uncertainty, and recover quickly from disruption. Emphasize innovation as a skill, a growth mindset, urgency, transparency and accountability in all that is done.
Foster a psychologically safe, trust-based environment where feedback and diverse perspectives are encouraged and valued.
Serve as a core member of the ITS management team, actively contributing to strategic planning and cross-organizational transformation initiatives. Fulfill fiduciary responsibilities, including cost optimization, budget management, and staff development.