ET Consultant (Product Owner - Lending Solutions)

Job Posting Organization:
The World Bank Group is a prominent global institution established to provide funding and knowledge to developing countries. It is a unique partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and over 130 offices worldwide, the World Bank Group plays a crucial role in addressing the most pressing global challenges through innovative projects and data-driven solutions. The organization is committed to fostering collaboration between public and private sectors to achieve impactful results in various development sectors.

Job Overview:
The position of ET Consultant (Product Owner - Lending Solutions) at the World Bank involves serving as a key liaison between business stakeholders and Agile teams. The Product Owner is responsible for managing the team backlog, ensuring it aligns with customer and stakeholder needs while maximizing the value delivered in each iteration. This role requires a deep understanding of business priorities and the ability to translate them into actionable backlog items. The Product Owner will work closely with various stakeholders to maintain effective communication and feedback loops, ensuring that the solutions developed are responsive to evolving needs. The position is critical in bridging the gap between strategic objectives and team execution, requiring strong judgment and excellent communication skills to synthesize stakeholder input into clear priorities.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities of the ET Consultant (Product Owner - Lending Solutions) include: A. Backlog Management and Value Prioritization: Owning and maintaining the team backlog, prioritizing items based on business value and strategic objectives, translating business needs into actionable user stories, and refining backlog content for effective iteration planning. B. Customer Representation and Stakeholder Alignment: Serving as the voice of the customer, building relationships with stakeholders, synthesizing feedback to inform backlog priorities, and promoting strong feedback loops. C. Alignment with Product Strategy and Solution Vision: Partnering with Product Management to ensure alignment between product strategy and implementation, providing insights into feasible solutions, and contributing to planning and decision-making. D. Agile Team Collaboration and Delivery Support: Working closely with the Agile team on story clarification, supporting planning activities, facilitating informed decisions, and encouraging teamwork. E. Communication, Governance, and Decision-Making: Communicating effectively with stakeholders, evaluating trade-offs, and ensuring backlog decisions are grounded in business priorities. F. Operations and Maintenance of the Loans Platform: Supporting the ongoing operations of the lending platform, applying hands-on experience to inform backlog priorities, and collaborating with stakeholders to identify operational improvements. G. Operations and Maintenance of the Sanctions Screening and Integrity Due Diligence Platform: Supporting the operations of the sanctions screening platform, applying practical experience to enhance platform usability, and ensuring alignment with business requirements.

Required Qualifications:
The required qualifications for the ET Consultant position include: A Master's degree with 5 years of relevant experience or a Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Additionally, candidates must have over 10 years of experience in developing, operating, and maintaining complex financial applications, experience working in a Scaled Agile product team, and the ability to translate business needs into clear priorities for delivery teams. Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential, along with experience working with virtual multi-cultural teams across different time zones.

Educational Background:
Candidates must possess a Master's degree or a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field. The educational background should be complemented by significant professional experience in the field of financial applications and Agile methodologies, ensuring that the candidate has the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skills to excel in the role.

Experience:
The position requires a substantial level of experience, specifically over 10 years in developing, operating, and maintaining complex financial applications. Candidates should have practical experience working in a Scaled Agile product team, including involvement in PI planning and retrospectives. The ability to translate business needs into actionable priorities is crucial, along with experience in managing virtual teams across multiple time zones.

Languages:
The mandatory language for this position is English. Proficiency in additional languages may be considered a plus, although not explicitly required.

Additional Notes:
This position is a local recruitment opportunity with a term duration of 1 year. The role is classified under the EC2 grade level, and the World Bank Group emphasizes its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The organization is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on gender, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability. The position is subject to the World Bank Group's policies regarding Extended Term appointments, which are limited to a maximum of three years.