Manager, Corporate Business Solutions

 

Manager, Corporate Business Solutions (ITSCB)

Job #:

req34357

Organization:

World Bank

Sector:

Information Technology

Grade:

GH

Term Duration: 3 years 0 months

Recruitment Type:

Local Recruitment

Location:

Chennai,India

Required Language(s):

Preferred Language(s):

Closing Date:

12/19/ :59pm UTC)

Description

Working at
the World Bank Group (WBG) provides a unique opportunity to help client
countries 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 poverty on a
livable planet. 

With 189
member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, the World Bank Group
works with public and private partners, invests in groundbreaking projects and
uses data, research, and technology to develop solutions to pressing global,
regional and local challenges. For more information, please visit http: ..

The
organization has undertaken an ambitious exercise to revise its mandate,
products and structure to adjust to the multiple, intertwined crises affecting
the world today (see Evolution Roadmap), in the move to becoming a better Bank.

Business Unit
Overview

The mission
of the Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) Vice Presidential Unit (VPU)
is to leverage information and technology as a force multiplier to accelerate,
deepen, and sustain development impact. Their vision is to harness information
and technology for a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For more
information on ITS, check this video: . 

Department
Context

The WBG
Corporate Solutions Department (ITSCO) is focused on the digital transformation
of essential corporate services to ensure WBG operations are seamless,
resilient, and future‑ready. Uniting digitalization roadmaps, experience
design, process optimization, application delivery, systems management, and
technology modernization across some 170 products and services, the department
links business ambition with operational excellence—from intuitive employee
experiences and precision payroll to data-driven decision making, intelligent
automation, and AI enablement. Operating from Washington, Chennai, Sofia, and
Singapore in a global delivery model, the team seeks to combine disciplined
strategic planning with focused roadmaps, agile product delivery, design‑forward
innovation, digital engineering, automation, and AI to produce solutions that
are engaging, impactful, and efficient. The goal is a unified, OneWBG corporate
backbone—streamlined, connected, and adaptive—that empowers leaders, staff,
partners, and shareholders with the processes, capabilities, and insights to
advance the WBG's mission at scale.

The
department comprises of four distinct but complementary units which work
closely together to deliver on the department's mandate:

• Corporate Digital Acceleration unit:
Accelerates digital transformation for corporate business functions
through design thinking, digital innovation, rapid prototyping,
reimagining processes, and AI enablement, e.g. AI-first work
digitalization strategies.

• Corporate Experience Solutions unit:
Delivers optimal digital experiences for WBG employees, clients, partners,
shareholders, and beneficiaries through engaging, effective, and
user-centric solutions, e.g. intranets, self service, work productivity
and decision-support systems.

• Corporate Business Solutions unit:
Enables critical corporate business processes and functions of the WBG
through accurate, efficient, and resilient back-office systems, e.g. ERP
systems supporting human resources and budget functions.

• Corporate Digital Backbone unit:
Creates an autonomous digital backbone for the orchestration of data,
transactions, processes, and insights across the diverse corporate
portfolio, e.g. application modernization, technology debt reduction,
efficient data exchange, enterprise integration, automated business
processes, and agentic-AI.

Unit Context

The
Corporate Business Solutions unit, within the department, will serve as both
the steadfast guardian and an active innovator of the World Bank Group's most
essential corporate back‑office business processes and the technology systems
that support them—those critical capabilities that underpin the organization's
ability to operate efficiently and with integrity. The unit will oversee vital
corporate systems such as personnel administration, global payroll, benefits,
tax, pension, budget and planning, cost and expense management, internal audit,
ethics and justice processes, heath services, and other essential corporate
services. These operations—and their supporting platforms—demand uncompromising
accuracy, confidentiality, and resilience, operating in environments where
reliability is non‑negotiable. Through rigorous governance, assurance, and
compliance practices, the unit will ensure these processes and systems remain
stable, secure, and audit‑ready—while simultaneously advancing modernization to
drive automation, integration, and greater institutional value. The six teams
that fall under this unit include:

• Personnel,
Compensation, & Benefits Management: Responsible for core personnel lifecycle,
employee compensation, and benefits management for the WBG's global
workforce.

• Global
Payroll & Taxes:
Provides secure and compliant payroll and tax platforms, incorporating
automation, self-service, and regulatory best practices to ensure accuracy
and transparency.

• Pension
Management: Responsible for the WBG's pension systems including end-to-end solutions
for WBG retirees.
Budget
& Costs:
Delivers financial planning and cost management solutions, embedding
industry-leading practices in flexible budgeting, cost management,
forecasting, reporting, predictive analytics, and AI-based insights.

• Procurement: Manages end-to-end procure-to-pay
systems including sourcing, purchasing, contracting, and payments
leveraging workflows, automation, spend analytics, and supplier
relationship best practices.

• Case
Management:
Helps WBG units to track, manage, and resolve issues and sensitive cases
through modern case management platforms, ensuring privacy,
accountability, and measurable service-level performance.

Balancing
precision with progress, the Corporate Business Solutions Unit will combine
strong operational discipline and proactive risk management with a forward‑looking
agenda for continuous improvement. This includes adopting modern technologies
to streamline and standardize processes, integrating systems and data flows to
support better analytics, insight, and agility, and automating transactional
activities to create capacity for higher‑value strategic work, including
through responsible agentic-AI. By safeguarding the Bank's core operational
backbone while reimagining how it can be made more efficient, connected, and
adaptive, the unit will maintain the trust, efficiency, and integrity on which
the institution depends—while positioning its back‑office functions to be not
only resilient but also future‑ready in service of the Bank's global mission.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Manager,
Corporate Business Solutions combines strategic vision, product leadership, and
agile delivery to lead the World Bank Group's portfolio of core corporate
business systems, ensuring secure, compliant, and resilient operations while
driving process efficiency, systems integration, and innovation.

The Manager
will work closely with the Director and other Managers in the WBG Corporate
Solutions department to ensure business transformation priorities, product and
systems development, and technology capabilities are aligned and connected to
maximize impact, efficiency, and value. The primary roles and responsibilities
for this position include:

Leadership & Strategic Planning

• Drive and deliver the
strategic direction for the unit's product and technology investments
aligned with the WBG's business goals through the creation of well-defined
product roadmaps and solution architectures, that comply with product
management and agile software delivery best practices (e.g. design
thinking, SAFe).

• Partner with business
leaders and key stakeholders to generate thought leadership, strengthen
engagement, and co-create investment priorities and roadmaps consistent
with leading technology governance and investment frameworks (e.g. SAFe
LPM).

• Lead the planning,
delivery, and lifecycle management of core enterprise platforms, including
ERP — spanning finance, HR, procurement, personnel administration,
payroll, benefits, internal audit, and related back‑office systems.

Delivery,
Efficiency, & Continuous Improvement

• Accountable for delivery,
optimization, and continuous improvement of mission‑critical systems
(human resources, budget and planning, corporate procurement, etc),
ensuring cost effective and timely delivery and measuring reliability and
value.

• Build a culture of product quality and
technical excellence by implementing modern software delivery practices,
updating technology solutions, driving down costs, and improving
measurable value and quality metrics across the portfolio (e.g. lead and
cycle times, failure rates, velocity, and customer satisfaction).

• Oversee solution
architecture, system design, and integration to ensure seamless
interoperability across corporate platforms, eliminating duplication and
enabling streamlined processes. Embed process efficiency and automation
into system improvement plans, reducing manual work, reducing operational
costs, and enhancing service delivery. Key platforms include PeopleSoft
Oracle ERP, SAP ERP, Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Azure, multiple
SaaS and enterprise cloud solutions, and a host of custom applications.

• Achieve delivery excellence and ensure
all portfolio initiatives, including the capital budget program, are
managed to budget, timelines, and expected quality standards by
understanding, quantifying and communicating impact, milestones,
interdependence and value measures and playing a leadership role in
managing risk, removing impediments, and ensuring interventions and
escalations are meeting the overarching goals of the organization.

• Accelerate innovation across the
portfolio through the proactive and aggressive implementation of new
digital capabilities, including automation and AI, throughout both the
product portfolio and ways of working, to scale impact, drive efficiency,
and accelerate impact. Drive adoption of modern,
user‑centric approaches such as Human‑Centered Design, Design Thinking,
Agile, Sprints, Systems Thinking, and Strategic Foresight to accelerate
time‑to‑value.

• Proactively assess and
mitigate risks across availability, security, business continuity, data
integrity, and regulatory compliance through well‑defined controls and
incident planning, and ensure successful compliance with audit
requirements, e.g. ICFR.

People Management & Culture Leadership

• Lead and develop a high‑performing,
globally distributed team (Washington, Chennai, Sofia, Singapore, and
other locations), setting clear objectives, coaching for growth, and
enabling career development and succession planning.

• Increase organizational resilience by
equipping staff with the mindsets, tools, and support systems needed to
adapt to continuous changes, maintain productivity under uncertainty, and
recover quickly from disruption. Emphasize innovation as a skill, a growth
mindset, urgency, transparency and accountability in all that is done.

• Own the unit's adoption of the SAFe
methodology to drive delivery, including the creation of ARTs, agile
teams, and other agile conventions.

• Foster a psychologically safe,
trust-based environment where feedback and diverse perspectives are
encouraged and valued.

• Serve as a core member of the ITS
management team, actively contributing to
strategic planning and cross-organizational transformation initiatives. Fulfill
fiduciary responsibilities, including cost optimization, budget
management, and staff development.

Within the first
year, this leader will deliver the following:

• Assess the Corporate Business
Solutions team and identify opportunities for improvement.

• Deliver product roadmaps and solution
architectures for the ten largest products in the unit's portfolio.

• Successfully deliver the capital
program assigned to the unit

• Define a target state and roadmap for
the Peoplesoft ERP system.

• Deliver on the integrated planning
solution for the WBG.

• Deliver on the modernized corporate
procurement solution for the WBG.

• Establish well functioning agile teams
within the unit and effective collaboration across the department.

Selection Criteria

In addition
to having a strong work ethic and unquestionable integrity, the selected leader
will have the presence to establish immediate credibility with managers, peers,
and a complex group of stakeholders. They will possess outstanding intellect,
leadership and analytical abilities as well as excellent interpersonal,
communication and presentation skills. A successful candidate will possess
qualifications such as:

Education & Experience

• A master's degree in computer science, computer engineering, or other related disciplines with 10+ years relevant experience; or a bachelor's degree with 15+ years relevant experience.

• Post-graduate coursework in digital technology, information technology, innovation, AI, technical entrepreneurship, business management, or related subjects is preferred.

• Candidates must possess certification in Agile methodologies with demonstrated expertise in Agile practices, specifically requiring SAFe Agilist (SA), SAFe Product Manager/Product Owner (POPM), or similar qualifications.

• Certifications in Digital Transformation, Application Delivery, Technology Management, Change Management, Lean Portfolio Management, Cloud, AI, PMP, or other industry certifications are desirable.

• Ten-plus years in ERP management, solution architecture, application delivery, for enterprise-scale business systems (human resources, budget and planning, corporate procurement, etc.), delivering reliable, efficient, and secure experiences for back-office business units.

• Proven ability to define and execute roadmaps aligned to business priorities, leveraging agile delivery, process design, and modern development practices to achieve measurable outcomes.

• Proven expertise in ERP system design, integration, and lifecycle management, including aligning technology platforms with global standards and business priorities. Demonstrated ability to drive process efficiency, automation, and robust data governance across foundational business functions (finance, HR, procurement).

• Proven expertise in designing solution architectures and thorough knowledge of technical processes and life cycle methodologies (Agile, DevOps) from project management to software development and execution using modern application frameworks, including AI and automation.

• Proven track record managing risk, business continuity, security, and compliance for critical business systems; ensuring safety, reliability, and efficient operations, including governance and change management; and managing and passing audits (e.g. ICFR).

• Deep experience with Oracle PeopleSoft ERP, SAP ERP, Microsoft Sharepoint Online, Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Azure, and other leading enterprise cloud technologies.

Management &
Leadership

• Proven experience leading multidisciplinary, technical, distributed teams and vendors, building high-performance cultures focused on impact, iteration, and continuous improvement with global scaled agile IT delivery model.

• Proven ability to effectively partner with business stakeholders and vendors to build strong partnerships, foster good governance, ensure strategic business/IT alignment, and transform relationships.

• Strong collaborator with outstanding interpersonal and diplomatic skills, including the ability to facilitate, negotiate, and influence successful outcomes. Ability to influence decision makers through collaboration, education, and working partnerships. 

• Strong business acumen and judgment—able to simplify complex concepts, prioritize investments for value, and deliver results under pressure.

• A deep passion for the mission of the WBG.

The World Bank Group values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of World Bank Group member countries to apply, regardless of gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.  Sub-Saharan African nationals, Caribbean nationals, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

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