E T Consultant
Job #:
req39089
Organization:
World Bank
Sector:
Health/Nutrition/Population
Grade:
EC3
Term Duration:
1 year 0 months
Recruitment Type:
Local Recruitment
Location:
Washington, DC,United States
Required Language(s):
English
Preferred Language(s):
Closing Date:
11/5/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Opportunity:
The Digital and AI cross-cutting team is seeking to hire an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) based in Washington, D.C., reporting to the Unit Manager under the supervision of the Digital and AI cross-cutting team, to support its engagement on digital health transformation to support the delivery of quality and affordable health services to 1.5 billion individuals by 2030. The Senior Digital Health Specialist will work on the development of the analytical and technical work related to the adoption, adaptation, coordination, and implementation of digital technologies into Bank-financed health projects. As a Lead AI in Health specialist, they will contribute to shaping the World Bank Group's strategic agenda in alignment with client country needs and informed by broader digital health and digital transformation trends as the portfolio and context evolves.
The ETC will work closely with the broader World Bank Group Health Department teams to lead technical delivery and advisory for AI in Health as a foundational component of advancing Digitally Enabled Primary Health Care (PHC) platforms. The ETC is expected to be a global leader in AI for Health topics, a self-starter with excellent background knowledge of health systems, digital transformation in health, strong facilitation skills, and experience in program management. Travel to client countries and/or representing the World Bank at external events will be required.
Duties and Accountabilities:
Digital Health Transformation Strategic Leadership.
• Lead technical assistance to client countries to design and implement digital health strategies, blueprints, and roadmaps aligned with national health priorities, universal health coverage objectives, and system capacity.
• Lead policy, legal, and institutional reforms to enable digital health transformation, responsible AI for health, including data governance, data sharing frameworks, privacy, cybersecurity, procurement approaches, and vendor management models.
• Develop and disseminate practical guidance (standards, templates, "how-to" toolkits) for planning and scaling digital health solutions and digital public services related to digitally enabled primary health care.
• Identify emerging global trends and proven practices (e.g., AI-enabled decision support, digital public health, virtual care where appropriate) and support pilots with clear pathways to scale.
• Lead the design and support the implementation of digital health aspects of projects, advise and support client country teams, Ministries of Health, and other relevant Ministries on how to prioritize, design, operationalize, measure and/or adapt digital health and AI initiatives and other technology-based approaches in an integrated, comprehensive, systems-approach.
Evidence-based leadership in Artificial Intelligence for Health.
• Lead efforts to evaluate and validate the use of AI in health through the development and dissemination of methodologies for assessing the performance, safety, and equity of AI systems in health, including in low-resource and multilingual settings.
• Lead the integration of AI in the DigiHealth and DigiPharma technical assistance programs by the Knowledge Bank's IFC health technical assistance.
• Lead the development of the Bank's AI in health investment framework, including risk stratification criteria for AI products in clinical vs. population health settings.
• Own the Bank's internal quality standards for AI procurement in health operations, including evaluation criteria for fairness, explainability, and clinical validation.
• Drive original research or analytical work on AI readiness in LMICs, contributing to flagship publications or policy briefs.
• Provide authoritative guidance on regulatory pathways for AI-enabled health devices in low-resource settings, engaging with WHO, ITU, and national regulatory authorities.
• Lead the Bank's engagement with global AI governance frameworks as they apply to health (e.g., WHO guidance on AI ethics, G20 AI principles applied to health systems).
• Serve as the global focal point for countries establishing the regulatory, institutional, and technical frameworks needed to govern AI in health, including oversight mechanisms, accountability structures, and redress mechanisms for AI-related harms.
• Guide AI capacity building and workforce change management, strengthening the ability of health ministry staff, clinicians, and health system managers to understand, evaluate, and use AI tools effectively.
• Advise clients on AI integration into health system analytics, using AI to identify system bottlenecks, forecast commodity needs, and support clinical decision-making at the point of care.
Operational Support, Capacity Building, and Knowledge.
• Co-create and support World Bank country teams and clients on developing appropriate terms of reference and evaluation processes in the procurement and implementation of digital health and novel models of care to enable better and more equitable health service delivery.
• Lead capacity-building workshops and coaching for client counterparts on architecture, interoperability, governance, AI for health, and implementation practices.
• Lead the digital health components of capacity building efforts for task teams and clients through the HNP Learning Program, the Digital Health Community of Practice, and other initiatives.
Coordination and Integration with Broader World Bank Teams.
• Coordinate with the broader World Bank teams and communities to ensure a OneWBG approach to digital health transformation and other areas of work within the Global Health Directorate.
• Undertake the timely drafting of narrative reports for periodical reporting and tracking of activities and deliverables for internal management needs.
• Lead key technical partnerships both within and outside the World Bank to ensure the WB is well-represented in multilateral digital health dialogues, shared strategy development, and global initiatives as well as a thought leader in key areas of comparative advantage.
• Represent the World Bank at global digital health and AI forums including but not limited to conferences, webinars, and technical consultations.
• Support the onboarding of new team members as appropriate.
• Coordinate with World Bank TTL(s) to draft proposals, draft budgets, and report on progress as appropriate.
Selection Criteria
The ideal candidate for this position will be a highly motivated individual with a backgroun
