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. Established in 1944, 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, visit www.worldbank.org
ITS Vice Presidency
Context:
Information and
Technology Solutions (ITS) enables the WBG to achieve its mission of ending
extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable way by
delivering transformative information and technologies to its staff working in
over 150 locations.
Our vision is to
transform how the Bank Group accomplishes its mission through information and
technology. In this fast-paced, ever-changing world, the formulation and
implementation of the ITS strategy is an ongoing, iterative process of learning
and adaptation developed through extensive consultations with business partners
throughout the World Bank Group.
ITS shapes its
strategy in response to changing business priorities and leverages new
technologies to achieve three high-level business outcomes: business
enablement, by providing Bank Group units with innovative digital tools and
technologies to transform how they deliver value for their clients; empowerment
& effectiveness, by ensuring that all Bank Group staff are connected, able
to find information, and productive to accelerate the delivery of development
solutions globally; and resilience, by equipping the Bank Group to provide
risk-based cybersecurity and robust data protection for a global network and a
growing cloud platform. The ITS mission is to leverage information and
technology as a force multiplier to accelerate, deepen, and sustain development
impact. ITS is on an Agile transformation journey, reshaping all aspects of the
operating model to increase and accelerate value creation.
Implementation
of the strategy is guided by three core principles. The first is to deliver
solutions for business partners that are customer-centric, innovative, and
transformative. The second is to provide the Bank Group with value for money
with selective and standard technologies. The third principle is to excel at
the basics by providing a high performing, robust, and resilient IT environment
for the organization.
WBG Finance
(ITSFI) is responsible for providing high quality, streamlined information and
technology solutions for the World Bank’s Financial & HR services, which
include Human Resources, Corporate Finance, Risk Management, Controls,
Treasury, Loans, Accounting, and Concessional finance (handling donor
contributions from inception to the point of final disbursement, including IDA,
Financial Intermediary Funds and Trust Funds). ITSFI is additionally
responsible for building its IT services using a shared platform that provides
scale, leverage, reliability, and control while at the same time improving
responsiveness to emerging business needs. The ITSFI team is accountable for
the implementation of the ITS Strategy supporting WBG core finance business
processes.
As a unit within
the ITSFI department, ITSFT unit enables key functions of the WBG Finance and
Accounting vice-presidency and its corporate partners such as financial
management, payments and disbursements, new lending product deployment,
financial accounting, institutional analytics, and external reporting. The unit
also operates and evolves WBG ERP and the external client digital banking
platform and supports WFA financial technology innovation.
Domain: Corporate Finance & Accounting
Strategic Context
Investments in the Corporate Finance and
Accounting Domain will enable the scale-up of WBG operations by integrating key
outcomes from the Aria, Libra, and blockchain initiatives. These investments
will support the Evolution Roadmap priorities by enhancing operational
efficiency by simplifying business processes to enable more efficient use of
funds and improving financial controls. The World Bank Group's Finance ERP
modernization project will enhance financial management capabilities, reduce
operational risk, and increase agility. Project Libra will modernize the Bank's
loan ecosystem, streamline and automate loan processes, and incorporate
innovations such as AI, OCR, and Blockchain, ensuring greater flexibility,
scalability, and adaptability. Adopting blockchain technology will optimize and
digitize end-to-end business processes, providing full traceability, immutable
audit trails, and efficient data management. These strategic initiatives will
position the WBG at the forefront of financial innovation, promoting
sustainable development and financial stability.
Key Priorities
ARIA – ERP renewal
LIBRA – loans landscape renewal
FUNDSCHAIN – disbursement traceability
Use of Artificial Intelligence to gain efficiency
Roles and Responsibilities
Independent
contributor IT professional, with in-depth expertise on architecting and
managing Datawarehouse solutions for the finance line of business with the
following responsibilities.
Key
Responsibilities
- Technical Subject Matter Expert (SME):
Serve as the technical SME for the WBG Loans Data Repository, providing in-depth expertise in architecting, developing, and managing data warehouse solutions and related applications, with a focus on lending and finance domain data.
- Data Engineering and Solution Development:
* Design, develop, and maintain robust ETL/ELT pipelines and orchestration frameworks using Python, Dremio, Azure Data Lake, Azure Functions, and PL/SQL.
* Implement and optimize data virtualization solutions and ensure seamless integration with downstream systems such as Finance Data Platform, ED’s Dashboard, Data Explorer, Finance One, TRE/ELMA interfaces, CECL, and FLOC.
* Ensure data quality, consistency, and security across all data engineering processes.
- System and Application Architecture:
* Lead or participate in design and architecture sessions with key business users and technical teams.
* Collect, analyze, and document business processes and requirements, translating them into scalable technical solutions.
* Guide the development team in creating architecture artifacts in line with WBG Enterprise Architecture, standards, and best practices.
- Technical Documentation and Testing:
* Prepare comprehensive technical specifications, low-level design documents, and unit test plans.
* Oversee and participate in unit, integration, and user acceptance testing to ensure high-quality deliverables.
* Maintain and update documentation and artifacts required for OIS (Operational Information Security) clearance and compliance.
- Release and Change Management
* Ensure consistent and controlled release management, change management, and project approval processes.
* Establish systems to monitor the operating efficiency of existing application systems and provide proactive maintenance.
Collaboration and Stakeholder
Engagement
Business Analysis and Communication:
* Engage with business users to understand requirements, advise on data warehouse and integration best practices, and balance business needs with technical constraints.
* Communicate project status, issues, and risks regularly to stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment.
Team Leadership and Mentorship:
* Provide technical guidance and mentorship to team members, including staff and contractors.
* Review deliverables to ensure alignment with WBG standards and guidelines.
* Coordinate day-to-day activities and communication between geographically distributed teams (e.g., Chennai and HQ), including vendor partners, ensuring timely and quality delivery.
Data Governance and Security
Data Governance:
* Ensure adherence to WBG data governance policies, including data classification, retention, and quality standards.
*Support the implementation of data management best practices, including metadata management and data lineage tracking.
Information Security:
* Work closely with Information Security (OIS) teams during all stages of software development to ensure compliance with security requirements.
* Function as a liaison for development teams on security matters and support incident response as needed.
Continuous Improvement and Innovation
Technology Monitoring:
* Stay abreast of emerging technologies, market trends, and new tools relevant to data engineering and the lending domain.
* Experiment with and evaluate new solutions that align with organizational strategic goals, sharing best practices and lessons learned.
Process Optimization:
* Identify opportunities for process improvement and automation within data engineering workflows.
* Lead or contribute to initiatives that enhance system performance, scalability, and maintainability.
Additional/Desirable
Responsibilities
Business Intelligence and Data Modeling:
* Develop dashboards and reports using Power BI and maintain data models using tools like Erwin (as required).
Agile and DevOps Practices:
* Actively participate in agile ceremonies and utilize Azure DevOps (ADO) for project tracking and collaboration.