AI experts wanted in multiple countries
A new procurement seeks interdisciplinary AI advisers to build capacity, standards and digital public goods for safer use of automation in social protection.
A new procurement seeks interdisciplinary AI advisers to build capacity, standards and digital public goods for safer use of automation in social protection.
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In November 2025, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, working through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, launched a tender for an expert pool on artificial intelligence in social protection. The project will provide strategic and technical advice on the responsible adoption of AI, with a focus on capacity-building, standards and digital public goods across social protection systems.
Published on 19th November 2025, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH issued the contract notice for an expert pool for AI advisory services. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is seeking a project team of interdisciplinary experts to provide strategic and technical advisory services on the responsible adoption of AI in social protection systems.
The brief brings strategy and technology together. It calls for expertise that can advise on how artificial intelligence should be used in social protection, not only from a technical standpoint but also in terms of policy, implementation and long-term system design.
The notice highlights three main areas of focus:
This points to a governance-first approach. Rather than procuring a specific AI platform or software product, the ministry and GIZ are investing in people and institutions: strengthening the capacity to work with AI, setting standards for its use in social protection, and advancing digital public goods that can support those systems over time.
Responsibility is explicit in this project. The experts are expected to advise on the responsible adoption of AI in social protection systems, placing issues of risk, safeguards and public trust at the centre of the work rather than treating them as an afterthought.
Similar language is now appearing in other parts of the public sector. Also in November 2025, Social Care Wales launched a contract for digital resources for AI in social care. It is seeking a supplier to create concise and engaging resources in English and Welsh that promote the safe and responsible use of AI for professionals in Wales.
In June 2025, Bord Iascaigh Mhara issued a call for advisory and training services in AI and data privacy, aimed at enhancing organisational resilience and compliance. And in August 2025, the Department of Information and Communications Technology initiated recruitment of a Social Development Specialist for the Philippines Digital Infrastructure Project, with responsibility for social risk assessments and safeguards for a large infrastructure programme.
Taken together with the GIZ tender, these notices show public bodies procuring explicit expertise on the social and ethical dimensions of AI and digital projects. Training, guidance materials and specialist advisory roles are being built into programmes from the outset. For suppliers, this signals growing demand for teams that can combine technical AI skills with a grounded understanding of social impacts, safeguards and compliance.
Social protection systems depend on reliable information systems, and recent procurements underline how governments and agencies are reinforcing those digital foundations.
In June 2025, the Project Fiduciary and Administrative Agency in São Tomé and Príncipe announced plans to hire an IT consultant for social protection to support the Social Protection Response and Recovery Covid-19 Project. The role focuses on systems administration, IT support and training related to the information management system Ké-nón.
In August 2025, the National Agency for Social Protection under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan sought social protection training services. The assignment centres on training social scientists in research and communication skills, alongside advanced quantitative methods and data science, to strengthen analytical capacity inside the agency.
On the infrastructure side, Finnish company 2M-IT Oy is establishing a dynamic procurement system for data management and AI services, covering platforms, solutions, licences and expert consulting for social and healthcare organisations. In July 2025, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan sought a software developer to strengthen its AI-based digital infrastructure by improving its Online Advisor service through natural language processing and chatbot technology.
Set against this backdrop, the GIZ expert pool is notable for its system-wide perspective on AI in social protection. While other procurements target specific information systems, training programmes or AI-enabled services, this project is framed around helping social protection actors decide where and how AI should be used, what standards should apply and how digital public goods can support multiple programmes over time.
A further trend visible across recent notices is the move towards framework arrangements and long-term partnerships for AI-related expertise. Instead of commissioning isolated pilots, many public bodies are creating standing routes to bring in specialists who can support several projects over a number of years.
In October 2025, the Department for Business & Trade published the AI³ Delivery Partners Project. It is seeking specialist expertise to support implementation of its AI³ model, focusing on identifying, developing and operationalising AI use cases through close collaboration with internal teams.
Energy company EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG is looking to establish framework agreements for general AI consulting, aimed at enhancing data processing and decision-making. The Free State of Saxony, through Staatsbetrieb Sächsische Informatik Dienste, plans framework contracts for consulting and development services for AI-supported systems, spanning consulting, project management, operational support and training in its administration. Broadcasters are taking a similar route: Südwestrundfunk has called for AI development and support services, with framework agreements designed to enable quick commissioning of strategic and operational work.
Research organisations are also formalising their approach. In November 2025, Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH) issued a notice for AI strategy consulting, seeking experienced support to develop and implement an AI strategy that optimises operational processes and embeds AI as a strategic factor in its administrative business area. At national level, a contracting authority is planning an AI platform procurement delivered as a platform-as-a-service on a secure cloud, intended to support AI applications and integrate with existing systems.
The GIZ expert pool fits within this wider shift. It is not conceived as a single technology project with a fixed deliverable, but as a source of interdisciplinary expertise that social protection actors can draw on as they explore, test and scale AI use. The emphasis on standards and digital public goods also suggests that at least some outputs are intended to be reusable across programmes and partnerships.
As the procurement advances, a key question will be how the idea of responsible adoption is translated into concrete advice for social protection systems. How capacity-building, standards and digital public goods are balanced in the work will shape the kind of support that ministries and implementing agencies receive.
Another question is how far the expert pool connects with the growing number of AI-related initiatives in social protection and social care, from information system upgrades to training and guidance. With many public bodies now investing in AI advisory frameworks and platforms, the way this project defines and shares good practice could influence how AI is woven into social protection policy and administration in the coming years.
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