Senior Digital Specialist - SME, Jobs, and Digital Transformation

At the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

VPU Context: The World Bank Group's Digital & AI Vice Presidency (D&AI VPU) leads the institution's work on digital transformation and artificial intelligence, both as a driver of development outcomes in client countries and as a foundation for institutional effectiveness. As AI systems become increasingly embedded in public services, financial systems, infrastructure planning, and humanitarian response, the imperative to ensure those systems are safe, fair, accountable, and aligned with human rights has never been greater.

For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/digitaldevelopment.

Unit Context: The Digital Applications Department advances the Digital and AI Strategy across WBG operations. It supports regional, country, and sector teams across IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA. The unit develops diagnostics, toolkits, operational models, and scalable digital solutions. Its FY27 priorities emphasize inclusive digital ecosystems, skills-to-jobs pathways, firm productivity, and cross-sector applications. This specialist will connect these priorities to operational pipelines and client delivery.

This position will accelerate SME digitalization, job creation, and real-sector transformation. It will help clients convert digital foundations into measurable firm-level and employment outcomes. The specialist will support agriculture, health, manufacturing, tourism, water, financial services, and other priority sectors. The role will combine enabling reforms, enterprise capabilities, digital platforms, data, AI, cybersecurity, and financing pathways.

Duties and accountabilities:

• Strategy and diagnostics: Lead country and sector diagnostics on SME digital readiness, adoption barriers, market opportunities, and jobs. Convert findings into prioritized roadmaps, investment plans, delivery models, budgets, and measurable results.
• SME digitalization: Design programs that help firms adopt e-commerce, cloud tools, payments, cybersecurity, data analytics, and AI. Develop shared services, accelerators, voucher models, supplier-development programs, and digital finance pathways.
• Jobs and skills: Build skills-to-jobs approaches linking employers, SMEs, platforms, training providers, and labor-market systems. Address entrepreneurship, platform work, workforce transitions, and AI-complementary jobs, with attention to women and youth.
• Real-sector transformation: Help sector teams identify high-value use cases and redesign firm processes, services, and value chains. Develop reusable approaches spanning agriculture, health, manufacturing, tourism, water, finance, and other sectors.
• Enabling environment and partnerships: Advise on competition, data governance, interoperability, digital trade, consumer protection, procurement, and public-private collaboration. Mobilize technology firms, financial institutions, investors, academia, and development partners.
• Operations and investment: Support concept notes, project design, TORs, technical specifications, supervision, and results frameworks. Identify pathways for private capital mobilization, market creation, and integrated WBG delivery.
• Knowledge and scale: Produce practical toolkits, playbooks, case studies, and a digital transformation for real sector training accelerator program. Test approaches through pilots, capture evidence, and scale effective models across regions.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in technology, economics, business, public policy, engineering, or related fields.
• At least 8 years of progressively responsible experience in digital transformation, SME development, jobs, or private-sector development.
• Strong record translating firm and sector constraints into feasible digital programs, architectures, financing plans, and results frameworks.
• Expertise in at least three areas: SME digitalization; skills and jobs; digital platforms; data and AI; digital finance; e-commerce; or sector transformation.
• Demonstrated operational experience with governments, private firms, investors, and development institutions across multiple regions.
• Knowledge of data governance, interoperability, cybersecurity, cloud services, responsible AI, and low-capacity implementation environments.
• Excellent client engagement, technical writing, influencing, and collaboration skills in complex, cross-cultural, multidisciplinary settings.

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who: Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries. Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making. Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.

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.

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.