Manager, Corporate Digital Backbone (ITSCD)

World Bank Group - International Finance Corporation; Singapore; On-site; SGD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

An international financial institution based in Singapore is seeking a Manager for its Corporate Digital Backbone unit. This role involves leading the modernization of over 170 corporate applications, focusing on security and interoperability. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership qualities and experience in application development and technology optimization. Responsibilities include developing strategic roadmaps and implementing risk management strategies. Competitive compensation and a dynamic work environment are offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Dynamic work environment

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven experience in managing technology portfolios.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to handle large datasets.
• Experience leading high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead modernization of corporate applications.
• Develop strategic roadmaps for application optimization.
• Implement risk management strategies across applications.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic Planning

Technology Optimization

Risk Management

Application Development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology or related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

DevOps

Cloud-based platforms

AI and Automation Tools

Job description

Overview

Working atthe World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity to help client countriessolve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of thelargest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a uniqueglobal partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending poverty on alivable planet.

With 189member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, the World Bank Groupworks with public and private partners, invests in groundbreaking projects anduses data, research, and technology to develop solutions to pressing global,regional and local challenges. For more information, please visit http:.

Theorganization has undertaken an ambitious exercise to revise its mandate,products and structure to adjust to the multiple, intertwined crises affectingthe world today (see), in the move to becoming a better Bank.

Business UnitOverview

The missionof the Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) Vice Presidential Unit (VPU)is to leverage information and technology as a force multiplier to accelerate,deepen, and sustain development impact. Their vision is to harness informationand technology for a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For moreinformation on ITS, check this video:..

DepartmentContext

The WBGCorporate Solutions Department (ITSCO) is focused on the digital transformationof essential corporate services to ensure WBG operations are seamless,resilient, and future‑ready. Uniting digitalization roadmaps, experiencedesign, process optimization, application delivery, systems management, andtechnology modernization across some 170 products and services, the departmentlinks business ambition with operational excellence—from intuitive employeeexperiences and precision payroll to data-driven decision making, intelligentautomation, and AI enablement. Operating from Washington, Chennai, Sofia, andSingapore in a global delivery model, the team seeks to combine disciplinedstrategic planning with focused roadmaps, agile product delivery, design‑forwardinnovation, digital engineering, automation, and AI to produce solutions thatare engaging, impactful, and efficient. The goal is a unified, OneWBG corporatebackbone—streamlined, connected, and adaptive—that empowers leaders, staff,partners, and shareholders with the processes, capabilities, and insights toadvance the WBG's mission at scale.

Thedepartment comprises of four distinct but complementary units which workclosely together to deliver on the department's mandate:

- Corporate Digital Acceleration unit:Accelerates digital transformation for corporate business functionsthrough design thinking, digital innovation, rapid prototyping,reimagining processes, and AI enablement, e.g. AI-first workdigitalization strategies.

- Corporate Experience Solutions unit:Delivers optimal digital experiences for WBG employees, clients, partners,shareholders, and beneficiaries through engaging, effective, anduser-centric solutions, e.g. intranets, self service, work productivityand decision-support systems.

- Corporate Business Solutions unit:Enables critical corporate business processes and functions of the WBGthrough accurate, efficient, and resilient back-office systems, e.g. ERPsystems supporting human resources and budget functions.

- Corporate Digital Backbone unit:Creates an autonomous digital backbone for the orchestration of data,transactions, processes, and insights across the diverse corporateportfolio, e.g. application modernization, technology debt reduction,efficient data exchange, enterprise integration, automated businessprocesses, and agentic-AI.

Unit Context

TheCorporate Digital Backbone unit serves as both the steward and transformationcatalyst for the World Bank Group’s broad corporate technology portfolio ofapproximately 170 applications. This diverse landscape—spanning on-premisesenterprise‑class ERP systems, cloud‑based SaaS offerings, specialized vendortools, and custom solutions built on multiple stacks—forms the digital backboneof the institution’s corporate functions. The unit guides the modernization,consolidation, and integration of these systems to create a unified, secure,and future‑ready application ecosystem. The unit provides applicationframeworks and digital capabilities for the product teams across the departmentto leverage for accelerated delivery. The four teamsthat fall under this unit include:

- ApplicationPortfolio Management: Takes a portfolio approach to managing the lifecycles of adiverse and complex set of corporate applications and platforms, with afocus on introducing standardization, driving efficiency, managingtechnical debt, and mitigating risk.

- ApplicationDelivery Productivity: Optimizes corporate application development and developerproductivity by mainstreaming modern development tools, applicationframeworks, cloud-native practices, DevOps, AI, and agile approaches tomaximize velocity, quality, productivity, and efficiency.

- Analytics& AI for Corporate: Delivers data and analytics capabilities for corporate functionsthat enable data-driven decision-making, embedded machine learning, and AIcapabilities consistently and efficiently across all products in thecorporate portfolio.

- CorporateAutonomous Platform:Delivers enterprise integration capabilities for the orchestration ofdata, transactions, processes, and insights across the corporate portfolioto enable efficient data exchange, automated business processes, and aunified view of operations.

Balancingoperational stability with an agenda for bold renewal of the corporateapplication portfolio, the unit will harness modern development practices,platform unification, advanced integration, and automation to deliver resilientand interconnected capabilities. By embedding data, analytics, and AI into thefabric of the corporate application portfolio—and by driving developerefficiency through agile methods, streamlined DevOps pipelines, low/no/pro‑codetooling, and AI‑enabled coding—the unit will enable intelligent decision‑making,faster delivery, and greater organizational agility. Alongside modernization,the unit will proactively manage technology risk and reduce technical debt tosafeguard performance and ensure sustainability over time. The use of the“autonomous backbone” and responsible agentic-AI will streamline and connectcorporate functions and empower the WBG with timely insights, improvedinteroperability, and the technology agility required to drive innovation,efficiency, and sustained mission impact across the WBG’s corporate landscape.

Dutiesand Responsibilities

The Manager,Corporate Digital Backbone leads the modernization and unification of the WorldBank Group’s approximately 170 corporate applications—spanning ERP, SaaS, PaaS,vendor, and custom solutions—into a secure, interoperable, and future‑readyecosystem that powers an autonomous backbone for WBG corporate functions. TheManager drives portfolio consolidation, platform standardization, advancedintegration, and disciplined risk management to reduce technical debt andenhance resilience. By scaling agile, DevOps, CI/CD, low/no/pro‑code, automatedtesting, and AI‑assisted development, the Manager increases developerefficiency, improves service quality, and embeds data, analytics, and AI forintelligent decision‑making across the corporate portfolio.

The Managerwill work closely with the Director and other Managers in the WBG CorporateSolutions department to ensure business transformation priorities, product andsystems development, and technology capabilities are aligned and connected tomaximize impact, efficiency, and value. The Manager will also closelycoordinate with the Technology Office, Office of Information Security, and theData Technology Office of the WBG to leverage enterprise standards andpractices. The primary roles and responsibilities for this position include:

Leadership & Strategic Planning

• Guide the technologydirection for the WBG's corporate application portfolio through thecreation of a strategicroadmap for unifying, modernizing, and optimizing the portfolio to enhanceagility, manage risk, increase efficiency, and reduce cost.


• Partner with businessleaders and technology stakeholders to generate thought leadership,strengthen engagement, and co-create technology priorities for thecorporate portfolio consistent with leading technology governance andinvestment frameworks (e.g. SAFe LPM).

Application Modernization, Delivery Efficiency, & AutonomousBackbone

• Create structuredapplication modernization roadmaps for WBG corporate functions thatsequence transformation priorities, manage interdependencies acrossapplications, and identify cross-cutting areas for maximum institutionalimpact.


• Lead the lifecycle management ofapproximately 170 corporate applications — from legacy on‑premisessystems, cloud‑based SaaS platforms, and custom builds — ensuring theyremain robust, secure, audit-ready, and fit‑for‑purpose during theirmodernization.


• Ensure the optimization of applicationdevelopment and maintenance practices for the corporate portfolio bydriving the adoption of modern tools and processes, including AI‑assisteddevelopment, process automation, and real‑time analytics, to measure andenhance developer productivity, application delivery efficiency, andbusiness value


• Embed data, analytics, and AI into thefabric of the application portfolio to streamline deployment across all170 products and services, eliminating duplication, and acceleratingbusiness velocity and value.


• Oversee system integration, unifieddata flows, and architectural simplification to create a secure,interoperable, and autonomous backbone — powered by automation andagentic-AI — that supports consistent, intelligent operations across theWBG corporate portfolio.


• Achieve delivery excellence and ensureall portfolio initiatives, including the capital budget program, aremanaged to budget, timelines, and expected quality standards byunderstanding, quantifying and communicating impact, milestones,interdependence and value measures and playing a leadership role inmanaging risk, removing impediments, and ensuring interventions andescalations are meeting the overarching goals of the organization.


• Implement strong governance andproactive risk management to safeguard corporate application health,reduce technical debt, and ensure that the modernized ecosystem remainsresilient, scalable, and adaptive to evolving business priorities.

People Management & Culture Leadership

• Form and develop a high‑performing,globally distributed team (Washington, Chennai, Sofia, Singapore, andother locations), setting clear objectives, coaching for growth, andenabling career development and succession planning.


• Increase organizational resilience byequipping staff with the mindsets, tools, and support systems needed toadapt to continuous changes, maintain productivity under uncertainty, andrecover quickly from disruption. Emphasize innovation as a skill, a growthmindset, urgency, transparency and accountability in all that is done.


• Foster a psychologically safe,trust-based environment where feedback and diverse perspectives areencouraged and valued.


• Serve as a core member of the ITSmanagement team, actively contributing tostrategic planning and cross-organizational transformation initiatives. Fulfillfiduciary responsibilities, including cost optimization, budgetmanagement, and staff development.

Within the firstyear, this leader will deliver the following:

• Build the Corporate Digital Backbonecapability and team.


• Deliver an application lifecyclemanagement, risk reduction, and technical debt mitigation plan for thedepartment's diverse application portfolio.


• Deliver quantifiable productivityimprovements in the developer workforce, including through automation,no/low/pro code, and AI adoption.


• Begin the integration of moderndigital capabilities, including data, automation, and AI, into the tenlargest business solutions in the department's application portfolio.


• Define the autonomous backbone andagentic-AI framework for the corporate applications portfolio and workwith other units in the department to leverage it across value chains,processes, and products.


• Successfully deliver the capitalprogram assigned to the unit.


• Establish well functioning teamswithin the unit and effective collaboration across the department.

Selection Criteria

In additionto having a strong work ethic and unquestionable integrity, the selected leaderwill have the presence to establish immediate credibility with managers, peers,and a complex group of stakeholders.They will possess outstandingintellect, leadership and analytical abilities as well as...