EmergingPublic-service and civic AI delivery

Humanitarian AI Specialist

Also called AI for Development Specialist

A Humanitarian AI Specialist adapts AI tools to the needs communities define for themselves. They make sure the tools are useful, fair in who can reach them, and safe, which protects your reputation and the people you serve.

What they do

They start with the community and the local context, not the tool. They run participatory design sessions with the people who will use or be affected by the system, and with frontline staff. They map the service workflow, find where AI could help, and say plainly where it should not be used. They adapt or configure tools for local language, literacy, connectivity and access needs. They test for accessibility and for harm, set up a feedback process that communities can actually use, and write down what changed as a result. They also work with public records and policy owners, so decisions stay accountable.

What a strong hire delivers

In the first months, a strong hire delivers one tool or workflow validated in its real context, with evidence that the intended users helped shape it. They put a working community feedback process in place, with a clear route from complaint to fix. They produce a risk and access review that leaders can read and act on. They also leave a short record of what the team should and should not automate.

How you can tell they are good

Ask them to walk through one deployment where the first design was wrong. Strong candidates explain how they found out, who told them, and what they changed. Ask how they would test equitable access, and what they would do if a community rejected the tool. Worry if they talk only about model performance, or treat consultation as a single workshop.

Why it is hard to fill

The title barely exists, so searching on it finds few people. The work is often hidden inside roles in programme management, digital services or policy. The mix is rare: field credibility, service design discipline and enough technical fluency to challenge a vendor or a model provider. Many candidates have two of the three. Expect to assess the work they have done, not the label they carry.

Where to find them

Look in public administration, civic technology teams, public policy units and service design practices. Many sit in humanitarian and development organisations as digital, innovation or programme leads. Others come from government digital services, accessibility consultancies, research groups and non-profit technology teams. Check for people who have run community feedback in live services, not only designed it on paper.

Indicative pay

Not enough published evidence yet to give a fair range for this role, which is common for work this new. We benchmark it for you as part of a search.

Interview questions for a Humanitarian AI Specialist

  1. Tell me about a time you adapted a digital or AI tool for a community that did not design it. What changed?

    A strong answer names the community, the local constraints and specific changes made after listening. It shows who was involved and how. Worry if the adaptation was only translation, or if users appear as an afterthought.

  2. How do you run participatory design when time is short and some voices are hard to reach?

    Look for practical methods: working through trusted local partners, going to people rather than asking them to come, and paying attention to who is missing. Worry about reliance on surveys alone or one-off sessions.

4 more questions, with what a strong answer covers, are in the Role Kit.

Job description you can post

We are looking for a Humanitarian AI Specialist to help us adapt AI tools to needs that communities define for themselves. You will work with frontline teams, partners and the people we serve to make sure what we build is useful, accessible and safe.

What you will do

  • Run participatory design with communities, partners and frontline staff
  • Map service workflows and identify where AI can help and where it should not be used
  • Adapt tools to local language, literacy, connectivity and accessibility needs
  • Test tools in context for usefulness, equitable access and potential harm
  • Set up and run a community feedback process, and act on what it shows
  • Maintain risk records and explain decisions to policy and programme leads

What you will bring

  • Demonstrated work delivering or adapting a service with community involvement
  • Experience in public administration, civic technology, public policy or service design
  • Practical skill in workflow and process design
  • Working knowledge of AI risk management and accessibility testing
  • Ability to explain trade-offs to non-technical and senior audiences
  • Sound judgement about when not to automate

Nice to have

  • Field experience in humanitarian or development settings
  • Experience working with public records or casework data
  • Language skills relevant to the communities we serve

Free to use and adapt. If it saves you time, a link back to this page is appreciated.

Skills that matter

  • Public policy and economicsAdvancedAnalyse institutional choices and distributional effects
  • AI risk managementAdvancedIdentify, assess, treat and monitor AI risks
  • AccessibilityWorkingEnable equitable use by people with disabilities
  • Workflow and process designWorkingRedesign work with explicit responsibilities and controls

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How we wrote this

Role definitions are our own editorial work, checked against occupational classifications, standards, research and employer pages. Titles vary by company, and this is a description of the work, not a job advert.

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