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Job Summary

The Digital Advisory Unit (DAU) of the IMF’s Information Technology Department (ITD) maintains expertise on digital technologies affecting member countries, with a focus on Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs), Govtech, Fintech (including digital finance), SupTech, RegTech and digital risks.

As technology is rapidly impacting digital finance and government operations, the IMF is scaling up work in these domains. DAU’s role is to both respond to the demand for technology expertise (for example for Technical Assistance or workshops), and to pro-actively research and document how technology might continue to change the economy (via research and development, or analytical work). DAU promotes a “responsible innovation” mindset, with a neutral and unbiased view on technology, and an effort to maximize benefits while minimizing risks, especially for the least developed countries.

Against this background, DAU is seeking to identify a digital expert with proven technology skills, knowledge, and experience in several of the following areas:

•           Retail payment systems (including various instruments, arrangements, and schemes) for both domestic and cross border contexts.

•           Digital infrastructures supporting existing and new payment rails, including, but not limited to CBDC, Fast Payment Systems, ACH payments, card, mobile or peer to peer payments.

•           GovTech innovation concepts and tools for enhancing public administrations’ internal processes, citizen-centric services, or decision-making

•           Digital platforms that support, or integrate with, payment services to enable governments to manage more efficiently the Government to Person (G2P) bilateral information and payments flows

•           Architectural concepts and technology stacks for Digital Identity and Data Exchange, as building blocks of Digital Public Infrastructures on which new pans of the economy are leaning on.

•           Data analytics, machine learning techniques and (generative) AI assistance to address current challenges of both Payments and GovTech pillars in this position: fraud detection, KYC/AML/CFT compliance, risk management, financial and fiscal controls, deriving insight from vast amounts of data, forecasting, evidence-based policy making, improved service delivery.

•           Technology skills – proficiency in programming languages commonly used in AI, such as Python or R. Expertise in generative AI, including deep learning, natural language processing, and AI frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) is a plus.

The Digital Expert will work in close collaboration with DAU’s digital money and risks experts and bring a larger digital print to team’s expertise in terms of AI and technology for the transformation of Governments operations. The strategy and its implementation will also be coordinated closely with IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM) and Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD), and occasionally with other departments.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

Educational development, typically acquired through the completion of an advanced university degree in Computer Science, Data science, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Finance or relevant discipline plus a minimum of 4 years of experience in the related fields, or a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field of study plus a minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience, is required.

Additionally, the below are highly desired:

•   Relevant experience may have been acquired in treasury department of ministries of finance, central banks, academia, as well as private firms from Fintech, GovTech or AI related sector.

•           Digital Finance experience spanning 5+ years in payments related concepts, solutions, and methodologies, and multi-year proven track record of successfully applying AI techniques to real-world problems in an implementing or other direct role.

•           Ability to apply that knowledge to a variety of domains related to the mission of the IMF

•           A mix of demonstrated strategic and analytical thinking, a track record of sound and impactful technology expertise, relevant publications and/or major product launches.

•           Skilled in leading and participating in dialogue with public authorities for understanding the benefits and risks of various technical solutions.

•           Strong oral communication skills – able to convey and deliver persuasively, advice and explain possible implications of digitalization related to core issues of the Fund to a diverse international audience.

•           Self-starter – seeing opportunities and challenges within his/her field and initiate appropriate action while seeing it through to its successful completion

•           Team player – ability to build strong relationships within the team and across the institution

•           Versatile and adaptive - Comfortable switching quickly between strategic planning and hands-on operational tasks

•           Learning agility – keeping abreast of their key technology knowledge and the potential implications on IMF and its member countries.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

1.Develops and implements a strategy (i) to identify existing and future needs for digital finance, AI or GovTech expertise to support and to contribute to the IMF’s work (ii) to identify and evaluate the suitability and potential impact of applying digital technologies (e.g., generative AI) to specific use cases in payments or government business (iii) to respond to member countries’ evolving needs for digital expertise for in the payments or government affairs (e.g., provide expert advice on the selection of appropriate generative AI models, data requirements, and implementation strategies to achieve desired outcomes)

2. Rapidly prototyping and PoCs that further the institution’s knowledge on AI, digital finance or GovTech.

3.Participate to Capacity Development missions, including technical assistance and workshops

4.Supports bilateral surveillance to member countries.

5.Authors and contributes to research papers relevant to the area.

6.Creates internal training and outreach content and conducts delivery.

7.Maintains and shares deep expertise in relevant disruptive technologies including but not limited to AI, ML, DLT, Big Data, cloud, or IoT.

8.Pro-actively develops partnerships with relevant international organizations and relevant partners from private, academia, and public sectors.

A regular staff member who is selected to fill the vacancy will maintain their open-ended status. If the selected candidate is a contractual employee,  they will be offered a Term staff appointment. Staff members already on a term appointment will continue their current term but may receive an extension provided that their current term appointment has not already been extended. 
 

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The IMF is committed to achieving a diverse staff, including age, creed, culture, disability, educational background, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, nationality, race, religion and beliefs, and sexual orientation. We welcome requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities during the selection process.