Associate Senior Product Owner

Job #: req37999
Organization: World Bank
Sector: Information Technology
Grade: GG
Term Duration:  2 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Location: Chennai,India | Sofia,Bulgaria and Singapore,Singapore
Required Language(s): English
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date: 8/21/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions driven by a bold vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. As one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, we help solve the world’s greatest development challenges. When you join the World Bank Group, you become part of a dynamic, diverse organization with 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide. We work with public and private sector partners, invest in groundbreaking projects, and use data, research, and technology to bring tangible and transformative change around the globe. 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 Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) Vice Presidential Unit supports the World Bank Group’s mission by delivering transformative digital solutions across more than 150 country offices and global locations. Within ITS, the Fiduciary Operations (ITSFD) team, part of Operations & Country Engagement Solutions (ITSOE), is leading the modernization of Environmental & Social (E&S), Procurement, and Financial Management business processes through data, automation, analytics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
As part of this transformation, ITSFD is implementing an enterprise-scale Agentic AI Platform that leverages cloud-native technologies, Large Language Models (LLMs), multi-agent orchestration, enterprise knowledge retrieval, advanced analytics, intelligent workflow automation, and secure API-driven integration services. The platform is designed to support document intelligence, due diligence, risk assessments, decision support, workflow automation, and conversational experiences across World Bank operations.
Position Overview
The Associate Senior Product Owner – Operational Financial Management (OFM) leads the strategic vision, backlog prioritization, and execution of next-generation, AI-enabled digital solutions across the institution’s financial management landscape. Operating at the intersection of operational finance, advanced data engineering, and artificial intelligence, this role is responsible for driving the digital transformation of financial governance, fiduciary controls, audit readiness, and financial reporting. 
The Associate Senior Product Owner translates complex business and financial requirements into scalable AI/ML solutions—including generative AI, intelligent process automation, predictive analytics, and automated anomaly detection—while operating within Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and Scrum methodologies.
Key Responsibilities
A. AI Product Vision, Strategy & Roadmap
• Define and execute an end-to-end product strategy that embeds Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) into operational financial workflows.

• Align product roadmaps with institutional financial policies, business strategies, and emerging technology trends to automate manual financial processing, enhance financial forecasting, and elevate data accuracy.

• Evaluate emerging AI technologies, Generative AI models, and Large Language Model (LLM) orchestration tools for application in financial document processing, intelligent ledger matching, and policy compliance verification.
B. AI/ML Backlog Management & Agile Execution
• Maintain, refine, and prioritize the product backlog for AI-driven financial tools using SAFe and Scrum frameworks.

• Translate complex financial operations and machine learning workflows into actionable user stories, feature specs, and technical acceptance criteria tailored to probabilistic model outputs (e.g., accuracy, precision, recall, and acceptable confidence thresholds).

• Oversee the end-to-end model delivery lifecycle (MLOps/LLMOps), coordinating training data preparation, model validation, deployment, continuous monitoring, and feedback loops.
C. Fiduciary Governance, Responsible AI & Compliance Controls
• Ensure all AI models and automated workflows strictly adhere to institutional risk management, data privacy, cyber security, and audit standards.

• Support development of robust Responsible AI frameworks, focusing on model explainability, bias mitigation, auditable decision trails, and human-in-the-loop (HITL) oversight for OFM transactions.

• Partner with internal and external auditors to demonstrate that AI-generated controls, automated reconciliations, and risk scores maintain full compliance and regulatory integrity.
D. Core Financial Operations & Smart Automation
• Support modernization of end-to-end financial management systems working in collaboration with financial management specialists, treasury teams, ITS technical teams, accountants, auditors, and Agile delivery teams

• Design AI-driven anomaly detection engines to continuously identify fraudulent activities, duplicate payments, accounting errors, and compliance deviations in real time.

• Leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to automate the extraction and validation of unstructured financial data from complex legal agreements, contracts, and financial receipts.
E. Data Architecture & Infrastructure Alignment
• Collaborate with data engineering and enterprise architecture teams to define scalable data pipelines, feature stores, and cloud-based data repositories (e.g., Azure, AWS, Databricks, Snowflake).

• Ensure high standards of data governance, lineage, cleanliness, and data readiness required for fine-tuning baseline models and powering enterprise financial analytics.

F. Stakeholder Collaboration & Change Enablement
• Serve as the primary liaison connecting Financial Management Specialists, Accountants, Auditors, Treasury Officers, and Information Technology delivery teams.

• Drive change management strategies to promote organizational adoption of AI tools, building trust in machine intelligence through transparent model reporting, intuitive user interfaces, and hands-on training.

Selection Criteria

1. Education & Experience
• Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Systems, Finance, or a related field with a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience; OR a Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in AI product management, financial technology, or digital transformation.
2. AI & Technical Knowledge
• AI/ML Technical Literacy: Deep understanding of modern AI paradigms, including Supervised/Unsupervised Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Transformer architectures, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and Generative AI frameworks.

• MLOps & Model Lifecycle: Hands-on experience with the machine learning lifecycle, model deployment pipelines, data drift monitoring, and evaluation metrics for deterministic vs. probabilistic systems.

• Data Engineering & Cloud Systems: Proficiency in cloud data architectures (Azure, AWS, or GCP), SQL, data warehousing, API integrations, and modern data platforms (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake).

• Financial Systems & Enterprise Architecture: Demonstrated familiarity with enterprise financial systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle Financials) and core accounting concepts, internal controls, and auditing frameworks.

3. Product Management & Agile Expertise
• Demonstrated track record as a Product Owner or Product Manager successfully shipping data-intensive or AI/ML-driven enterprise applications.

• Active certification in Agile methodologies (e.g., Certified SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager, Certified Scrum Product Owner) preferred.

• Proven skill in drafting technical user stories, defining model performance criteria, and prioritizing complex dependencies across multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
4. Leadership & Domain Competencies
• Strong ability to evaluate technical trade-offs between custom model development, off-the-shelf AI services, and traditional business rules engines.

• Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to explain complex AI/ML mechanics and algorithmic outputs to non-technical financial stakeholders and executive leadership.

• High ethical standards and a deep commitment to implementing transparent, unbiased, and compliant AI solutions.
Senior / Level II Additions (Plus Points)
• Experience building and deploying Large Language Model (LLM) agents or advanced copilot tools within regulated financial environments.

• Hands-on programming or prototyping experience (e.g., Python, R, SQL) for rapid data exploration and feasibility analysis.

• Deep knowledge of international accounting standards (IFRS/IPSAS), public sector financial management, or World Bank Group operational financial policies.

Note: This vacancy announcement is for one position posted across multiple possible duty stations. That includes Chennai, India and Sofia, Bulgaria and Singapore, Singapore. The selected candidate's duty station will be determined based on organizational requirements and business needs.

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.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.