Digital & AI Specialist

The Digital & AI Specialist will support client engagements in India and supervise activities as a technical expert in digital and AI systems for the public sector. The role involves guiding governments through AI adoption lifecycle, focusing on development challenges in sectors such as health, agriculture, education, social protection, and service delivery, and building client technical capacity.

Responsibilities

• Support policy dialogue with senior government officials and coordinate across government agencies, development partners, and World Bank departments.
• Contribute to design, preparation and supervision of World Bank financed investment and policy reform programs on digital and AI, emphasizing infrastructure for AI ready economy and digital public infrastructure systems for citizen-centric service delivery.
• Advise clients on strategies, best practices and design of programs to develop foundations of digital economies including national AI strategies, AI governance and regulatory frameworks, data governance regimes, and AI ethics and responsible AI policies.
• Liaise and provide guidance to colleagues in other sectors on leveraging digital technologies and AI to improve public service delivery and stimulate digital innovation and investment.
• Provide technical leadership on design and deployment of AI solutions in government including solution architecture, data pipelines, model selection, cloud/compute arrangements, integration with digital public infrastructure, and MLOps practices.
• Advise clients on sectoral AI applications for development including assessing use-case feasibility, cost, risks, and scaling pathways.
• Support clients in operationalizing responsible AI including bias testing, safety evaluations, human-in-the-loop design, grievance redress, and post-deployment monitoring.
• Contribute to building client-side technical capacity for AI adoption including institutional arrangements, procurement approaches, and talent and skills strategies.

Requirements

• Master's degree in telecommunications, engineering, computer science, data science, artificial intelligence/machine learning, law, economics, public policy, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in digital transformation and/or AI including design, deployment, or oversight of AI/ML systems, and/or digital economy policy, regulation, or project design and implementation, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience and successes in policy dialogue and operations related to digital public infrastructure, AI and data governance, broadband connectivity, and its intersection with development outcomes in health, financial inclusion, social protection, education, and/or gender.
• Good understanding of the role of private sector in digital infrastructure and familiarity with structuring arrangements between public and private sector investors.
• Knowledge of digital technology, including AI trends and risks, relevant to socio-economic development.
• Proven experience leading policy dialogue in countries with limited capacity and influencing reforms that enable digital transformation.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in deployment of AI/ML systems in public sector or development applications covering solution architecture, data engineering and governance, model development or adaptation including use of large language models, and production deployment and monitoring.
• Practical knowledge of technical building blocks of AI systems: cloud and compute infrastructure, data platforms, APIs and integration with government systems/DPI, and MLOps practices; ability to evaluate technical proposals and vendor solutions on behalf of clients.
• Experience designing or advising on sector-specific AI applications including assessing feasibility, total cost of ownership, and risks in low-capacity settings.
• Familiarity with responsible AI practices in deployment including model evaluation, bias and safety testing, explainability, and monitoring; ability to translate AI governance principles into implementable system requirements.
• Ability to think strategically about the role of digital and AI technologies in other sectors and the economy.
• Excellent analytical and statistical skills using metrics and indicators for data and evidence-based reforms.
• Strong client engagement skills with accountability for timely response to client needs.
• Excellent written communication skills with proven track record delivering technical information effectively.
• Excellent presentation skills using charts, graphs and data presentation techniques to communicate complex concepts to non-specialists.
• Strong drive for results and initiative to stay abreast of innovations in the sector.
• Ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed results.
• Strong business judgment and analytical decision making.
• Proven ability to function effectively as a team member of multi-disciplinary teams, mentor staff, and resolve conflicts constructively.
• Proficiency in English is essential.

Skills

• Digital Transformation
• AI/ML Systems Deployment
• Digital Economy Policy
• AI and Data Governance
• Broadband Connectivity
• Public Private Partnerships
• AI Trends and Risks
• Policy Dialogue
• Solution Architecture leadership
• Data Engineering
• Model Development
• Large Language Models
• Production Deployment
• MLOps principles
• Cloud Infrastructure Management
• Data Platforms
• API Integration
• Technical Proposal Review
• Sector-specific AI Applications
• Responsible AI Principles
• Model evaluation
• Bias Testing
• Safety Testing
• Explainability
• AI Monitoring
• Strategic Digital Planning
• Analytical Skills
• Statistical Analysis
• Client Engagement
• Technical Writing
• Presentation Skills
• Business Judgment
• Technical Mentoring

Languages

English