Johannesburg: Scrum Master

Job Description: The purpose of the Scrum Master is to coordinate the delivery of value through the operational level of the Agile Release Train. He/She will spend much of their time helping team members communicate, coordinate and cooperate; generally assisting the team(s) in meeting delivery goals. He/She is a servant leader who helps teams self-organise, self-manage and deliver via effective Agile practices. He/She supports and enforces the rules of the Scrum process and other agreed rules. He/She also helps the team(s) coordinate with other teams on release planning and communicates status to management as needed. The Scrum Master is expected to mentor both product management (as needed) and development teams in applying the Scrum framework effectively. Part motivational speaker, part coach and manager, the role involves monitoring and resolving issues that may arise throughout development. Job Duties and Responsibilities: Strongly serving and supporting the Product Owner and Development Team, providing support using a servant leadership style and leading by example Guiding and coaching the Scrum Team and organization on Agile/Scrum practices and values Guiding and coaching the Scrum and Development teams on getting the most out of self-organization Assessing Scrum maturity and coaching the team to higher levels at a sustainable pace Removing impediments or guiding the team to remove them by finding the right personnel Building a trusting environment where problems can be raised without fear, with an emphasis on healing and problem solving Facilitating work completion without coercion, assigning or dictating tasks Facilitating discussion, decision making and conflict resolution Assisting with internal and external communication, improving transparency and radiating information Supporting and educating the Product Owner(s), especially regarding refining and managing the product backlog Organising and facilitating sprint planning, reviews, retrospectives, daily stand-ups, release planning, product showcases and other Scrum meetings Facilitating sprint retrospectives, creating an environment where problems can be raised safely, with a focus on problem solving and improvement Ensuring clear communication among all Scrum team members Identifying and managing risks through early detection of issues and delays Recommending improvements and assisting in changes to best practice Tracking and communicating team velocity and sprint/release progress Managing multiple Scrum teams Facilitating Scrum events for the team, including: helping the team make decisions; continuing learning on Agile (e.g., user groups, conferences, books); encouraging Agile engineering practices (e.g., one-click releases, continuous delivery, feature flags); challenging the team with Agile management innovations (e.g., FedEx-Days); exchanging with other Scrum Masters (e.g., community of practice); helping remove impediments; suggesting new metrics as catalysts for change; reflecting Agile and Scrum values to the team. Scrum Master certification Experience playing the Scrum Master role for at least two years for a software development team that was diligently applying Scrum principles, practices, and theory. Knowledge and/or experience with widely successful Agile techniques: User Stories, ATDD, TDD, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, Pairing, Automated Testing, Agile Games Familiarity with modern software engineering techniques such as Continuous integration, build, deliver, test-driven development and other automated acceptance testing techniques Applicable knowledge of the technologies used by the team Experience applying a wide variety of well documented patterns and techniques for filling in the intentional gaps left in the Scrum approach(example: numerous Burndown techniques, numerous Retrospective formats, handling bugs,etc) Previous Project Management or Development Team Lead experience  Excellent communication and mentoring skills Excellent presentation and facilitation, coaching and mentorship skills Ability to effectively coach multiple teams with varying degree of complexity and time lines Organise and facilitate sprint planning, daily scrum meetings, retrospectives, release planning, demos, and other related meetings Oversee project estimations, the development and tracking of integrated project plans and the development of project deliverables in order to meet project objectives Champion and embody the Scrum way-of-life across the development teams A proven track record in software project delivery at an enterprise level in an agile environment. Understand and know how to use standard project management tools and techniques to schedule, plan and track project and team performance. A deep understanding of investment and life products A deep understanding of South African Investment Platforms and platform operations. An understanding of financial sector regulation as it relates to investment platforms . A “Make it happen” attitude Strong Problem Solving ability Ability to do Peer Level coaching Excellent interpersonal and communication Highly organized and a self-starting individual Ability to perform as a mentor/guide/coach to multiple scrum teams. Ability to accept and resolve team indicated impediments to delivery and work within the organization to remove these impediments efficiently. Ability to work directly with unit management to participate in strategic development and growth plans for teams and organization in terms of scrum acceptance and maturity as well as opportunities for team growth. Ability to coach team members to better understand the scrum framework and underlying concepts of agility. Ability to coach teams toward self-management and self-organization . Ability to guide teams towards continual improvement through routine team inspection during retrospectives. Ability to assess development opportunities for team members for the purpose of performance planning goals . Possess a high degree of adaptability within a work environment. Ability to recognize organizational barriers and work with executive management to address them or transform them into opportunities. Good skills and knowledge of servant leadership , facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment , and increasing transparency. The ability to distinguish between what “is Scrum” and what is “not Scrum” A passion for learning more about Agile as well as a hunger to keep up to date with new management tools and techniques, to facilitate yourself and your teams, and to enable project success. Responsible : the ScrumMaster assume responsibility for the team’s adoption of Scrum and practice of it. Humble: a humble ScrumMaster is willing to do whatever is necessary to help the team achieve its goal. A humble ScrumMasters recognize the value in all team members and by example lead others to the same opinion. Collaborative : the ScrumMaster should help create a collaborative atmosphere for the team through his words and actions – leading by example. The ScrumMaster must establish collaboration as the team norm . Influential : influence others both on the team and outside it in relation to adopting the agile approach and practices. Innovative behavior Pride in work. Good work ethics.