It’s Time to Make Moves

Job description:

Scrum Master Roles and Responsibilities
Scrum Master skilled in Agile coaching and transformation, specifically for a team new to Agile methodologies and Azure DevOps. This role will be pivotal in fostering an agile mindset and enthusiasm for using Azure DevOps as a powerful project management tool. As a Scrum Master, you’ll facilitate the team’s transition to Agile, patiently building understanding and motivation while structuring workflows in Azure DevOps to align with project goals.

Facilitate Team Events and Processes:

• Organize and facilitate all team ceremonies, including Daily Standups, Iteration Planning, Backlog Refinement, Iteration Reviews, and Retrospectives.
• Ensure these events occur, are time-boxed, and contribute positively to the team's productivity and goal alignment.

 
Support PI Planning and Execution:

• Prepare the team for Program Increment (PI) Planning by working with the Product Owner to define stories and tasks that align with PI objectives.
• Facilitate the team’s breakout sessions during PI Planning, helping them establish team PI objectives that align with the overarching program goals.
• Track progress toward PI objectives throughout the iteration, keeping the team focused and aligned on delivering value.

 
Coach the Team on SAFe / Agile Principles:

• Act as a coach for agile and SAFe principles, helping team members understand and adhere to agile practices such as Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe's Lean-Agile principles.
• Foster a continuous learning environment, encouraging team members to grow their agile capabilities and adopt a lean-thinking mindset.
• Educate team members on agile practices, promoting cross-functional skill development and facilitating incremental value delivery.

 
Facilitate Collaboration Across Teams:

• Enable collaboration between teams within the Agile Release Train (ART) by working closely with other Scrum Masters, Release Train Engineers (RTEs), and Product Owners.
• Help the team communicate effectively with stakeholders, ensuring that expectations are managed, and feedback is incorporated.

 
Remove Impediments and Manage Dependencies:

• Proactively identify, communicate, and remove obstacles that hinder the team’s progress, working with other Teams, Product Owners or other Scrum Masters as necessary.
• Manage dependencies within the team and across teams, ensuring that any blockers or delays are addressed swiftly to keep the team on track.

 
Support the Product Owner in Backlog Management:

• Collaborate with the Product Owner to ensure that the team’s backlog is well-defined, refined, and prioritized to deliver maximum value in each iteration.
• Help the Product Owner maintain a healthy backlog, ensuring that stories are clearly defined and meet the Definition of Ready (DoR) / Definition of Done (DoD) for smooth iteration planning.

 
Foster Continuous Improvement and Innovation:

• Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the team by facilitating retrospectives and ensuring that improvement actions are documented and implemented.
• Promote SAFe’s Inspect and Adapt (I&A) approach by encouraging experimentation, gathering feedback, and leveraging metrics to drive ongoing improvement.

 
Promote Team Empowerment and Self-Organization:

• Empower team members to make decisions and take ownership of their tasks, promoting a high level of team autonomy.
• Encourage the team to be self-organizing, helping them to manage and execute tasks efficiently without constant supervision.

 
Promote a Lean-Agile Mindset and Value Delivery:

• Support the team in understanding and applying SAFe / Lean-Agile mindset, focusing on delivering value incrementally and with high quality.
• Promote lean flow by helping the team eliminate waste and identify value-added activities, optimizing processes to maximize efficiency.

 
Communicate Progress and Metrics:

• Track and communicate key metrics (e.g., velocity, iteration burndown) that help the team assess their performance and adjust as needed.
• Use metrics to foster transparency, enabling the team and stakeholders to understand progress, areas for improvement, and any trends that may impact delivery.

Qualifications:

• Experience: Minimum of 3 years as a Scrum Master, with experience introducing Agile practices to teams new to the methodology and using Azure DevOps Boards for project management.
• Experience: Minimum 1 year as Scrum Master for a full stack development/product team.   
• Certifications: SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM) required.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Strong coaching abilities, with a proven track record in guiding teams through Agile adoption and boosting motivation.
• Experience supporting Information Security products and or suites using both Scrum and Kanban agile methodologies.
• Proficiency in Azure DevOps Boards, with a focus on organizing epics, features, stories, and tasks in a way that supports Agile processes.
• Experience with BI solutions (Power BI) 
• Excellent facilitation, patience, and motivational skills.

Personal Attributes:

• A driver to identify and address obstacles faced by product teams.
• A servant leader with a commitment to uplifting and empowering teams.
• Adaptive to the unique needs of teams transitioning to Agile Methodology.
• A proactive approach to continuous improvement, fostering an environment that embraces learning and change.