Associate Senior Product Owner

Associate Senior Product Owner

Job #: req35966 Organization: World Bank Sector: Information Technology Grade: GG Term Duration: 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Nairobi,Kenya (or) Sofia,Bulgari Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): English Closing Date: 3/24/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

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. 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 130 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:

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:

Business Unit Overview: ITS Region 1- Asia; Region2- AFR; Europe; MENAAP; Region 3 Washington & LCR (Regional Tech Solutions)

The ITSDW Tech Solutions regional units (ITSR1/2/3) combine in‑country presence with regional hubs to deliver onsite support, deployments, and sustained adoption. Teams run structured user‑feedback loops that inform standards and engineering roadmaps, and they partner with ITSDS (Digital Solutions - platform engineering/telemetry), ITSPR (Device Provisioning experience standards & device/room programs), the Service Desk (channels & knowledge quality), CTO (Chief Technology Office) Network Engineering, and GCS (General Corporate Solutions) for venues.

Operating Environment

ITSR1: East Asia & Pacific (EAP), South Asia (SAR) & Central Asia & Caucasus ( CACR); ITSR2: Africa, Europe (ECA), Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, & Pakistan (MENAAP) ; ITSR3: Washington DC Headquarters and Latin America & Caribbean (LCR )

Regional footprint across most country offices; HQ hub of ~100 staff; typical country offices staffed with 1–3 IT personnel

Duties and accountabilities:

Role Overview

Please note: This position will be located in one of the countries in ITSR2, wherever the best candidate is.

As the Associate Senior Product Owner (GG1), you will lead the Technology Adoption product and will play a key role in enabling staff to effectively and sustainably use digital workplace technologies to improve collaboration, innovation, and productivity across the organization.

In this role, you will own the end-to-end Technology Adoption product lifecycle. You will shape the product vision and roadmap, manage a region-specific backlog, and ensure delivery through agile ways of working. By working closely with business stakeholders and ITS partners, you will ensure adoption initiatives are aligned with business priorities and deliver measurable value.

You will lead complex, multi disciplinary initiatives focused on behavioral enablement and long-term change. This includes integrating the work of Adoption Specialists, identifying systemic barriers to adoption, and applying evidence-based solutions. You will use data, insights, and telemetry to monitor progress, assess impact, and drive continuous improvement.

As a senior member of the team, you will provide leadership and coaching, guiding team members toward high-value outcomes, strengthening adoption capability, and fostering a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous learning.

Duties & Responsibilities:

A. Build and Lead the Product Team

• Establish agile structures, rituals (Scrum/Kanban), and processes for the adoption team.

• Define success metrics (KPIs) and align regional resources to meet adoption goals.

• Foster a team culture of trust, continuous learning, and accountability.

B. Define Product Requirements & Business Value

• Engage directly with business stakeholders to ensure adoption strategies deliver measurable value.

• Gather requirements using practice-based personas developed from real user groups and behaviors.

• Maintain a dynamic stakeholder training pipeline to inform the delivery of relevant learning experiences.

• Review market trends and user insights to guide product enhancements.

C. Manage the Product Roadmap & Backlog

• Translate global strategy into a region-specific backlog and maintain the product vision.

• Prioritize a complex backlog including user stories for training, coaching, and engagement.

• Approve Definitions of Done (DoDs) and maintain high-quality content in the Digital Enablement Hub.

• Participate in PI Planning and sprint ceremonies to ensure delivery alignment.

D. Stakeholder Engagement & Change Leadership

• Identify high-value business teams for deep-dive coaching and tailored advisory sessions.

• Collaborate with Tech Solutions Service Delivery teams to gather feedback and requests.

• Lead change management activities, applying role-based adoption plans and peer networks.

• Oversee regional enablement events such as Expos, Tech consultations, and Tech Talks, or other formats as needed.

• Provide transparent updates and produce region-specific communications to sustain awareness.

E. Measurement, Quality Assurance & Reporting

• Maintain telemetry-driven dashboards to track usage depth and identify adoption barriers.

• Prepare weekly reports for the Product Manager and monthly Training & Coaching reports for partners.

• Lead test planning and ensure all adoption materials meet quality standards.

F. Leadership, Coaching, & Capability Development

• Guide, mentor, and coach team members to build technical expertise, digital dexterity, and a strong service-oriented mindset.

• Promote knowledge sharing, best practices, and continuous learning to strengthen team capability and improve service delivery outcomes.

• Foster a culture of accountability, trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement that supports high performance and sustained service quality.

• Set clear performance expectations, provide timely and constructive feedback, and contribute to performance management and career development discussions.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree with 8 years of experience or a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Demonstrated experience in product operations, digital adoption, customer success, product enablement, IT service enablement, or productivity/collaboration programs, including defining product vision and roadmap, managing complex backlogs, and delivering outcomes using agile frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe.

• Proven capability in leading technology adoption and change initiatives that drive behavioral enablement and sustainable change, including identifying adoption barriers and applying evidence-based solutions.

• Strong experience partnering with business stakeholders and technology teams to design and deliver adoption strategies aligned to business priorities and focused on measurable value and outcomes.

• Demonstrated ability to use data, insights, and telemetry to assess adoption, monitor impact, report on outcomes, and drive continuous improvement in products and services.

• Proven leadership experience in guiding, mentoring, and coaching team members, fostering a culture of trust, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

Preferred Certifications:

• SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager

• ATD Training & Facilitation Certificate

• IDEO U Design Thinking Foundations

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.