Job: Senior Business Management Officer

Location: Washington
Deadline: Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Background / General description:

The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It uses financial resources and extensive experience to help our client countries to reduce poverty, increase economic growth, and improve quality of life. To ensure that countries can access the best global expertise and help generate cutting-edge knowledge, the WBG is constantly seeking to improve the way it works. Key priorities include delivering measurable results, promoting openness and transparency in development, and improving access to development information and data.

The WBG reaches more than 25 million people across the globe each year with its external website and social media activities. Our digital presence is a symbol of the institution's transparency and openness, and is our most important tool for sharing knowledge, demonstrating our effectiveness to the world, and engaging with clients.

The External Corporate Relations Web and Social Media unit (ECRWS) manages all public digital assets for the WBG (website, mobile apps, social media channels, etc..) The mobile web, applications, and SMS are the next frontier and we're looking for someone to help lead the Bank's efforts in this area. You need to be part strategist, part product manager, and part technologist. By combining these skills, you can help guide the future direction for ECRWS as it transitions more broadly into the digital center of excellence for the WBG and expands more into mobile platforms, deeper user engagement and more strategic use of analytics.

We are looking for an exceptional individual with considerable management experience. Experience in directing agile development is a definite plus. The role involves managing onsite and offshore technology teams and requires strong people management skills; as well as substantial experience in collaborating with large offshore technology vendors to successfully deliver enterprise systems. Equally important is prior experience in technology budget oversight, particularly in managing significant capital budgets. This position will also be responsible for understanding and navigating WBG IT governance mechanisms, including articulating the business case for external web/mobile technology initiatives and working closely with ECRWS management to build stakeholder support for these initiatives.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The Head of Mobile and Product Development is responsible for the management of medium to large-sized, moderate to high complex projects; responsible for managing all aspects of the design, development and implementation of projects and solutions.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Create, maintain, and oversee an enterprise mobile strategy for the WBG's public content and products to guide the development of mobile applications, websites, and campaigns that utilize this important and growing channel.
• Manage a technology and product development team within ECRWS on technical requirements of existing Web products and services (including areas such as mobile, social media, analytics, etc.). Conduct analysis and articulate requirements for new technology adoption.
• Research audience and prospect needs and establish a roadmap of development projects that will directly contribute to improved performance across several lines of business.
• Educate business units about how to best leverage mobile capabilities to meet their business goals as well as how to avoid utilizing resources for projects that are unlikely to impact business results.
• Work with IT to create technology best practices and infrastructure to support enterprise-scale mobile applications, websites, and campaigns.
• Work closely with multiple teams within IT to ensure that the external web and mobile is appropriately integrated with enterprise platforms and systems and remains aligned with overall technology direction within the institution.
• Bring new ideas and approaches to web, mobile and application development, so that our external presence remains on par with industry best practices. Maintain awareness of advances in technology. Investigate and recommend new systems and services, including use of open source and social media tools.
• Manage all aspects of the design, development and implementation of projects. These activities may span the full life cycle of projects. Conduct reviews of integration points and cost impact to project. Ensure service provider performance meets business requirements.
• Plan and manage the capital budget, including project plans and time and cost estimates. Represent and prepare proposals and status updates for Web capital projects to internal committees as needed.
• Manage technology projects including resource pools, budgets, and risk mitigation. Leverage internal staff to run smaller projects within the portfolio and external staff to scale teams.
• Determine staffing and resources requirements and form project teams.
• Oversee all enterprise system operations and maintenance (O & M) capabilities for the external web and mobile.
• Perform quality management by developing the methods, procedures and defining quality objectives.
• Manage hiring and ongoing relationships with outside contractors and vendors to maximize their contributions to Web activities.
• Advise management and governance bodies on digital technology solutions, specifically on the benefits and risks regarding different technical options for web systems.
• Work collaboratively and collegially with peers across the institution.

Selection Criteria:

• Master's degree with 8 years relevant experience or Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 10 years relevant experience.
• Minimum of 8 year experience managing enterprise level technology solutions, including at least three years' experience working in mobile product development from web apps to native apps.
• Must have managed multi-million technology delivery budgets (capital and/or administrative).
• Strong familiarity with agile delivery methodologies and experience managing systems development using these methodologies.
• Expert ability to make sound, timely decisions even when information is limited or decisions produce unpleasant consequences.
• Proficient at formulating long-term strategies that are consistent with the business and competitive strategy of the organization.
• Experience managing a team and working on cross-functional teams.
• Able to work capably under stress and to juggle multiple tasks within tight deadlines.
• Able to work with cross functional teams in a demanding multi-tasking environment.
• Ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively in a team environment.
  Competencies:
  Risk Management - Assesses the probability associated with varying degrees of risk.
  System Development Life Cycle Knowledge (SDLC) - Coordinates required tasks for one or more phases of the SDLC.
  Business Function Knowledge - Engages business and technical leaders in the identification of medium-term business solutions consistent with best practices for cross-functional implementation.
  Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
  Drive for Results - Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
  Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
  Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
  Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.
  
  
  More Info and Application