Senior IT Officer, Architecture I Job #: req34905 Organization: World Bank Sector: Information Technology Grade: GG Term Duration: 4 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 11/28/2025 (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
Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) enables the WBG to achieve its mission of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner by delivering transformative information and technologies to its staff working in over 130 client countries.
ITS services range from: establishing the infrastructure to reach and connect staff and development stakeholders; providing the devices and agile technology and information applications to facilitate the science of delivery through decentralized services; creating and maintaining tools to integrate information across the World Bank Group, the clients we serve and the countries where we operate; and delivering the computing power staff need to analyze development challenges and identify solutions.
ITS is one of three VPUs that have been brought together as the World Bank Group Integrated Services (WBGIS), to provide enhanced corporate core services and enable the institution to operate as one strategic and coordinated entity.
The Senior Enterprise Architect will provide leadership across Business, Data, Applications, and Technology domains, driving the implementation of SAFe Agile architecture practices and establishing enterprise-wide guardrails and policies for consistency and strategic alignment. Key responsibilities include developing and maintaining reference architectures and solution patterns, leading strategic technology planning and rationalization, defining and reporting on EA-driven KPIs, and collaborating with stakeholders across WBG institutions. The position requires deep technical expertise, strategic vision, and strong governance discipline, as well as the ability to foster innovation and share best practices within and beyond the organization.
Responsibilities:
The Senior Enterprise Architect will lead enterprise architecture across Business, Data, Applications, and Technology domains, with a specific mandate to:
· Implement and operationalize the SAFe Agile architecture runway across portfolio, solution, and ART levels.
· Define, establish, and enforce architecture guardrails and enterprise policies to ensure consistency, compliance, and strategic alignment.
· Integrate AI and Generative AI capabilities into the WBG architecture roadmap, guiding adoption with governance, ethics, and business value in mind.
This role requires a combination of deep technical expertise, strategic vision, governance discipline, and the ability to collaborate across WBG institutions and global teams.
The specific roles and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Establish and Execute the Architecture Runway – Integrate architecture enablers into SAFe Agile delivery cycles; partner with portfolio and solution management to ensure runway readiness.
2. Develop and Maintain Guardrails & Policies – Define principle-based, adaptive guardrails for technology, data, and application design; embed automated governance where possible.
3. Reference Architectures & Patterns – Create and maintain reusable reference architectures and solution patterns, incorporating AI/GenAI best practices.
4. Strategic Technology Planning – Lead roadmaps for emerging technologies, cloud adoption, integration modernization, and digital transformation.
5. Technology and Application Rationalization – Drive portfolio simplification and reduce technical debt at the enterprise level.
6. AI/GenAI Enablement – Identify, evaluate, and integrate AI capabilities that advance WBG’s mission, ensuring ethical, secure, and value-driven adoption.
7. KPIs and Value Metrics – Define, measure, and report EA-driven business outcomes and technology health indicators.
8. Stakeholder Collaboration – Partner with business lines, security, shared services, and technology teams to align investments and execution with WBG strategy.
9. Innovation & Thought Leadership – Lead PoCs, participate in communities of practice, and share lessons learned internally and with peer institutions.
Selection Criteria
* Master’s degree with 5+ years’ experience, or bachelor’s with 10+ years in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
* Enterprise Architecture certification (TOGAF/EACOE) preferred.
* SAFe Agilist or SAFe Architect certification preferred, with hands-on experience setting up and managing the Architecture Runway.
* Cloud architecture certification (AWS and/or Azure) preferred.
* Proven experience in defining and enforcing enterprise guardrails, policies, and governance frameworks.
* Exposure to AI and Generative AI technologies, frameworks, and responsible AI practices.
* 5+ years leading EA in a large, complex, global enterprise.
* Strong experience in enterprise integration (cloud, on-prem, hybrid), API management, and data governance.
* Demonstrated success in technology/application rationalization and reducing enterprise technical debt.
* Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and stakeholder engagement skills.
* Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to define technology roadmaps.
* Experience evaluating cloud service designs and alternatives to achieve WBG’s desired balance of performance, risk, and cost.
* Deep knowledge and experience of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms and services in an enterprise environment. Experience with IaaS/PaaS cloud architectures and patterns
Job Specific Competencies:·
SAFe Agile and Architecture Runway
* Agile Architecture Leadership – Guides the definition, establishment, and governance of the Architecture Runway across portfolio, solution, and ART levels in SAFe environments.
* Agile Delivery Alignment – Ensures architecture enablers are defined, prioritized, and implemented in sync with PI Planning and value stream delivery.
* Continuous Architecture Evolution – Adapts architecture roadmaps dynamically to support incremental and iterative delivery.
Guardrails, Policies, and Governance
* Enterprise Guardrail Definition – Creates principle-based, adaptive guardrails for solution design, technology selection, data protection, and integration standards.
* Policy Enforcement – Implements mechanisms, including automation, to ensure compliance with architecture standards and governance policies.
* Governance at Scale – Facilitates architecture review boards (ARBs) and design authorities, ensuring transparent and consistent decision-making.
Enterprise & Solution Architecture
* Reference Architecture Development – Produces reusable reference architectures, patterns, and playbooks aligned to enterprise strategy.
* Technology Portfolio Management – Leads technology and application rationalization, reducing technical debt while enabling innovation.
* Cross-Domain Integration – Designs solutions spanning business, data, application, and technology architecture domains.
AI and Generative AI Enablement
* Strategic AI Adoption – Identifies and evaluates AI/GenAI opportunities aligned to business value and mission priorities.
* Responsible AI Governance – Establishes guardrails for ethical, secure, and compliant AI adoption.
* AI Architecture Integration – Designs target state architectures that embed AI/GenAI into core platforms, products, and workflows.
Emerging Technology and Innovation
* Technology Trend Analysis – Evaluates market trends, emerging platforms, and new capabilities for potential enterprise adoption.
* Community of Practice Building – Fosters knowledge sharing across WBG and peer institutions.