Associate Product Owner

World Bank Group; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

World Bank Group in Washington, DC is seeking an Associate Product Owner to support AI-enabled enterprise corporate solutions. You’ll translate business requirements into clear product specs, manage backlogs, and collaborate with Product Managers and stakeholders across ITSCO and other units to deliver measurable value.

You will work with cross-functional teams to maintain documentation, KPIs, and ensure quality in enterprise-wide solutions while maintaining governance and safeguarding standards.

Qualifications

• Master's degree with 5 years of relevant experience or Bachelor's with 7+ years.
• Advanced proficiency in stakeholder engagement across legal, finance, executive and IT client groups.
• Advanced proficiency in business analysis, backlog management, prioritization and grooming.
• Advanced proficiency in product roadmap development and lifecycle delivery in a large enterprise.
• Advanced proficiency in product requirement analysis and data-driven decision-making.
• Proficient in Scrum, Kanban, Sprint Planning and SAFe frameworks.
• SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager certification or equivalent preferred.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and AI tools in an enterprise setting is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Engage with business stakeholders to understand needs and translate use cases into features and backlogs.
• Coordinate with ICSID, Legal, Executive, ITS, and IFC to clarify dependencies and align portfolios.
• Evaluate market trends and user insights to guide enhancements to corporate solutions.
• Execute the product's goals, vision, and roadmap in line with business objectives.
• Develop measurable KPIs aligned with business value and goals.
• Prioritize the backlog to align with customer needs across client groups.
• Maintain documentation of features and user stories for enterprise solutions.
• Participate in sprint planning and related ceremonies to ensure timely delivery.
• Define technical requirements with development teams ensuring alignment with standards.
• Manage vendor engagements to support product delivery and compliance.
• Facilitate stakeholder communications to identify improvement opportunities.
• Provide regular progress updates to stakeholders.
• Contribute to test plans to ensure quality deliverables.
• Support data-driven decisions by analyzing product performance.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Product backlog management

Roadmap development

Product requirements analysis

Data-driven decision-making

Scrum Kanban SAFe

Change agent

Business savvy

AI tools familiarity

Sense of urgency

Education

Master's degree + 5 years

Bachelor's degree + 7 years

Job description

Job Details

• Job #: req38701
• Organization: World Bank
• Sector: Information Technology
• Grade: GF
• Term Duration: Open-Ended Staff (OPEN-OP)
• Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
• Location: Washington, DC,United States
• Required Language(s): English
• Preferred Language(s):
• Closing Date: 10/30/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

At the World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. For more information, visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd
VPU Context:
The Information and Technologies 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 WBG Corporate Solutions Department (ITSCO) is focused on digital transformation of essential corporate services to ensure WBG operations are seamless, resilient, and future ready. Corporate Business Solutions (ITSCB), a unit within ITSCO, supports corporate functions including human resources, payroll, pension, budget and planning, procurement, ICSD arbitration, legal, accountability and oversight, and other institutional corporate services.
The Associate Product Owner will support the execution of product goals, roadmap, and backlog for AI-enabled enterprise corporate solutions, ensuring they integrate with existing platforms and deliver measurable business value to operational teams and leadership. Working closely with the Product Manager and subject matter experts, the role will help translate business requirements into clear product specifications and user stories. The Associate Product Owner will engage stakeholders across business and technical teams, facilitate sprint ceremonies, and contribute to the continuous improvement of AI-enabled workflows. They will maintain product documentation, monitor performance insights, and ensure deliverables meet quality standards and organizational safeguards. Associate Product Owner will report to the Product Manager.

Duties and Accountabilities

• Engage with business stakeholders to fully understand their needs and challenges, translating complex use cases into clear product features and prioritized backlogs in close collaboration with Product Managers, architects, and delivery teams within the development value streams.
• Engage with cross-functional teams across ICSID, Legal, Executive, ITS, and IFC to clarify product interdependencies and ensure alignment across portfolios.
• Evaluate market trends and user insights to guide enhancements to corporate business solutions.
• Execute the product's goals, vision, and roadmap in alignment with business objectives and client needs.
• Develop product specific KPIs that are measurable, actionable, and aligned with business value/goals.
• Prioritize the product backlog to align with business objectives and customer needs across multiple client groups.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of product features and user stories for enterprise corporate solutions e.g., ADOs and institutional document repository.
• Participate in sprint planning and related ceremonies, reviews to ensure timely product delivery.
• Work with development teams to support the definition of technical requirements ensuring alignment with business objectives and organizational standards.
• Manage vendor engagements to support product delivery and compliance.
• Facilitate stakeholder communication across ICSID, Legal, Executive, ITS, and IFC to identify opportunities for product improvements and efficiency gains.
• Inform stakeholders at a regular cadence about product progress and updates.
• Contribute to the development and execution of test plans to ensure quality deliverables.
• Support data-driven decision-making by analyzing product performance and usage insights across corporate solutions.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree with 5 years of relevant experience, or Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination.
• Advanced proficiency in stakeholder engagement, with demonstrated ability to work across legal, finance, executive, and IT client groups.
• Advanced proficiency in Business Analysis, product backlog management, including prioritization and grooming aligned to business objectives.
• Advanced proficiency in product roadmap development and strong proven delivery in a large enterprise organization and execution across the full product development lifecycle.
• Advanced proficiency in product requirement analysis and data-driven decision-making.
• Skilled in Scrum, Kanban, Sprint Planning, and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
• Skilled in market research, value proposition development, and translating insights into product enhancements.
• Skilled in strategic communication and influencing stakeholders at multiple levels across diverse business functions.
• Demonstrated sense of urgency, thoughtful risk-taking, and accountability in a fast-paced product delivery environment.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and Artificial Intelligence tools in an enterprise setting is a plus.
• SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager certification or equivalent is preferred.
• Sense of Urgency Proven ability to prioritize effectively, act decisively, and maintain momentum under pressure. Proactively resolves bottlenecks and consistently delivers without sacrificing quality.
• Change Agent Demonstrated ability to champion new ways of working and constructively challenge the status quo. Builds support for change and helps teams navigate transitions with clarity and confidence.
• Business Savvy Proven ability to connect day-to-day decisions to strategic goals and engage stakeholders with credibility. Applies sound judgment in light of organizational priorities and the broader operating environment.

We value candidates who:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
• Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
• Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.

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.