Senior Digital Specialist - Digital Skilling Job #: req34278 Organization: World Bank Sector: Digital Development Grade: GG Term Duration:ย 4 years 0 months Recruitment Type: International Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): French Closing Date: 9/22/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile?ย 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 worldโs 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, visitย www.worldbank.org.
ย The Digital Transformation Vertical Vice Presidency was established on July 1, 2024, and guides the World Bank Group efforts to establish the foundations of a digital economy, build and enhance digital and data infrastructure, ensure cybersecurity and data privacy for institutions, businesses, and citizens, and advance digital government services. Digital technologies, including AI and data, present a unique opportunity to accelerate development. The Digital Transformation Vertical has the critical mission of delivering on this development promise. The Digital Vice Presidency and its global and regional teams support client countries in building the foundational and cross-cutting elements of digital transformation.
The Digital Economy and Society unit within the Digital Public infrastructure (DPI) and Services department of the Digital Vice Presidency helps client countries turn digital access into meaningful human and economic outcomes. The Digital Society agenda focuses on ensuring that digital transformation benefits everyone through inclusion, resilience, and innovation, by expanding access to digital opportunities, building skills, promoting locally relevant content, and strengthening human capital delivery systems.
Duties and Accountabilities:ย The Senior Digital Specialist for Digital Skilling will provide program leadership in the design and delivery of digitally enabled skilling initiatives across sectors, ensuring solutions are scalable, inclusive, and aligned with labor market needs.
The Senior Digital Specialist will:
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategy and Policy Advisory
Support governments in developing and implementing sectoral and national policies and strategies that prioritize skills development through digital technologies.Advise on governance, quality assurance, and financing models for digitally enabled skilling ecosystems.Promote integration of digitally enabled skilling into broader human capital, workforce, and economic development agendas.2. Program and Ecosystem Design
Lead the design of scalable, digitally enabled skilling programs across sectors.Ensure programs address ecosystem enablers such as devices, connectivity, financing schemes, interoperability standards, and local content.Provide program leadership and inputs to Bank-financed operations and support monitoring and evaluation of skilling outcomes.3. Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
4. Knowledge and Learning
Lead or contribute to flagship reports, toolkits, and case studies on digitally enabled skills development and ecosystem approaches.Capture and disseminate lessons from Bank operations and cross-country programs.Monitor global trends in digital platforms, AI-enabled learning, micro-credentials, and modular training, and assess relevance for LMICs.5. Inclusion and Equity
Ensure digitally enabled skilling initiatives expand opportunities for youth, women, and underserved groups.Promote innovative approaches (e.g., device-financing schemes, community hubs) to expand access in low-resource and low-connectivity contexts.Selection Criteria
Master's degree in education, human capital development, economics, development studies, business administration, information systems, or a related field.At least 8 years of professional experience in designing, implementing, or scaling digitally enabled skills development programs as part of advancing digital economy and society agenda.Demonstrated ability to work with the private sector and technology firms in cross-sectoral skills development and training.Demonstrated ability to integrate digital platforms and tools into education, workforce, and sectoral skills programs.Proven experience mobilizing digital ecosystems, including device manufacturers, telecom operators, financiers, training providers, and platform/content providers, to support large-scale skilling initiatives.Track record of influencing sector policies and strategies to embed digitally enabled skilling.Strong experience structuring and managing publicโprivate partnerships for skilling or workforce development. Direct experience working in the private sector is highly preferred.Knowledge of skills systems in LMICs, including policy frameworks, delivery models, and labor market dynamics.Familiarity with emerging skilling technologies and delivery models (AI-enabled learning, online platforms, micro-credentials, modular/blended training).Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, including experience in high-level government and private sector dialogue.Experience mobilizing donor or private sector financing for skilling programs is highly desirable.Bilingual proficiency (English/French) desirable.
WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of Urgency โ Anticipating and quickly reacting to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful Risk Taking โ Taking informed and thoughtful risks and making courageous decisions to push boundaries for greater impact.
3. Empowerment and Accountability โ Engaging with others in an empowered and accountable manner for impactful 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 theย World Bankย andย IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.