Senior Digital Specialist – Trustworthy AI (with Cybersecurity)

The World Bank Group’s Digital & AI Vice Presidency is seeking a senior specialist to help mainstream trustworthy and secure AI across the Bank’s global portfolio. In this Washington, DC onsite role, you will lead analytical work and operational support that strengthens how AI is designed, assessed, governed, and evaluated for development use cases and client capacity building.

Role focus

This position supports the overarching objective of strengthening the World Bank Group’s capacity to design, deploy, govern, and evaluate AI systems in ways that are trustworthy, secure, and aligned with client development goals. You will help embed standards and safeguards into project design and implementation arrangements, and guide both technical and policy stakeholders through practical governance and risk management.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the development of frameworks, toolkits, methodologies, and standards for assessing and implementing trustworthy AI systems in development contexts, including fairness, accountability, transparency, explainability, and robustness.
• Conduct and oversee technical assessments of AI systems deployed or under consideration in client country operations, identifying risks tied to bias, opacity, data integrity, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
• Provide authoritative technical guidance on AI risk management, including threat modeling for AI systems and adversarial robustness testing, with attention to the intersection of AI safety and cybersecurity.
• Contribute to research and knowledge products on topics such as algorithmic auditing, AI governance frameworks, secure AI deployment in low-resource environments, and emerging regulatory approaches.
• Provide technical inputs into the preparation, appraisal, supervision, and evaluation of World Bank lending operations and technical assistance programs with AI components across sectors including health, education, social protection, finance, agriculture, and public administration.
• Serve as a task team member or co-TTL on selected projects with significant trustworthy AI and digital security dimensions to ensure standards and safeguards are incorporated.
• Support borrowing countries in developing national AI strategies, AI governance frameworks, and regulatory environments that enable innovation while mitigating risk.
• Advise on the procurement, piloting, and oversight of AI systems in the public sector, including government accountability mechanisms and civil society engagement frameworks.
• Advise on private-sector AI solutions in the context of World Bank investments or advisory operations, including AI acceleration programs.
• Apply cybersecurity foundations to assessment and design of AI-enabled systems, including information security management, identity and access management, network security, secure software development lifecycles, and incident response.
• Advise on cybersecurity risks specific to AI deployments, including data poisoning, model inversion attacks, adversarial examples, and vulnerabilities introduced by third-party AI providers and cloud infrastructure.
• Collaborate with World Bank cybersecurity teams and global partners to align AI systems with internationally recognized security standards such as NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, and OWASP AI Security and Privacy Guide.
• Support clients in building institutional capacity for AI-specific cybersecurity governance, including integration of AI risk into national cybersecurity strategies.
• Engage in high-level policy dialogue with government counterparts, regulators, civil society, and the private sector on governance of AI and digital technologies.
• Represent the World Bank Group in international forums and working groups focused on AI ethics, trustworthy AI standards, and digital governance (including GPAI, OECD, ITU, and the G20 Digital Economy Working Groups).
• Provide strategic advice to client governments on AI regulatory frameworks, ethics guidelines, and institutional oversight mechanisms, facilitating dialogue between technical, legal, and policy stakeholders.
• Lead development and dissemination of knowledge products including policy notes, working papers, operational guidance notes, e-learning modules, and toolkits on trustworthy AI and AI cybersecurity.
• Design and deliver capacity-building programs, workshops, and training sessions for client officials, World Bank task teams, and development practitioners.
• Contribute to D&AI VPU communities of practice and knowledge platforms to foster peer learning across regions.
• Mentor junior staff and consultants within the unit and support team learning and professional development.
• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships with academic institutions, standards bodies, civil society organizations, and bilateral and multilateral partners working on trustworthy AI.
• Contribute to concept notes and proposals for trust-funded and co-financed programs related to AI governance and digital security.
• Engage with the private sector to promote responsible AI practices and to raise awareness of development context needs.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Security, Data Science, Public Policy, or a closely related discipline (a combination of technical and policy expertise is highly desirable).
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in AI, machine learning, or digital technology, with demonstrated specialization in at least three areas: AI ethics and fairness, explainable AI, AI risk management, AI governance and regulation, algorithmic auditing, or responsible AI deployment.
• Demonstrated experience applying cybersecurity principles in digital systems, with at least foundational knowledge of frameworks such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001, and understanding of how security risks intersect with AI systems.
• Experience working in or advising government institutions, international organizations, or development finance institutions on AI or digital policy is strongly preferred.
• Experience in low- and middle-income country contexts, including fragile or resource-constrained environments, is an asset.
• Track record of producing high-quality analytical work, knowledge products, or policy guidance on trustworthy AI or related topics.
• Proficiency in AI fairness metrics and bias detection techniques and explainability methods (e.g., SHAP, LIME, attention mechanisms).
• Familiarity with international AI governance frameworks and standards including OECD AI Principles, EU AI Act, NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and ISO/IEC 42001.
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity concepts relevant to AI, including adversarial machine learning, data governance and privacy (e.g., GDPR, differential privacy), secure model deployment, and cloud security fundamentals.
• Ability to assess and design AI governance structures including algorithmic impact assessments, audit processes, human oversight mechanisms, and redress systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to navigate complex technical and policy challenges.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, including translating technical concepts for non-specialist audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural, multidisciplinary team environment and build consensus across stakeholders.
• High level of integrity, discretion, and professional judgment.
• Proficiency in an additional World Bank working language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, or Chinese) is an advantage.
• Ability to responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.

Technologies and frameworks

• NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, OWASP AI Security and Privacy Guide
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001
• OECD AI Principles, EU AI Act
• SHAP, LIME
• GDPR, differential privacy
• GPAI, ITU, G20 Digital Economy Working Groups
• Algorithmic impact assessments, attention mechanisms

Benefits

• Retirement plan
• Medical, life and disability insurance
• Paid leave, including parental leave
• Reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities
• Equal opportunity and inclusive employer

Work objectives and culture

The specialist will help ensure AI systems are designed, deployed, governed, and evaluated to meet trustworthy and security expectations within development contexts. The role also calls for a work approach aligned with the D&AI VPU culture attributes: sense of urgency, thoughtful risk-taking, and empowerment and accountability across internal and external stakeholders.