Scrum Master and Tribe Agile Coach

Scrum Master - Existing Customers Tribe

(Possibility of Tribe’s Agile Coach role alongside Scrum Mastering)

For very experienced Agilists/Scrum Masters we are also interested in candidates to play the Agile Coach role at a Tribe level - see the last part of this job description for more information.

Context

The Existing Customers Tribe aspires to be a best-in-class change delivery function, to serve AFSL’s customers and all internal stakeholders/areas that are part of servicing customers and ensuring the highest customer satisfaction.

AFSL’s technology stack is modern and mainly centred around AWS, with a forward-looking service-driven approach.

The Objective of the Role

The Scrum Master is part of the delivery Squad within the Existing Customers Tribe and will be part of the leadership of the Squad alongside the Product Owner. The Scrum Master has overall accountability for the success of the Squad, acting both as a servant leader and coach for the Tribe. The main responsibility of the Scrum Master is to make the Squad team successful, such as removing organisational impediments, facilitating meetings, and protecting the team. The Scrum Master, as a servant leader, has responsibility for upskilling the Squad in agile ways of working that enable the team to self-organise, manage, and deliver value using agile methodology.

Key Responsibilities

• Accountable for maximising the Squad’s ability to deliver Sprint goals and contribute to Tribe OKRs.
• Identify, track, remove, and escalate impediments at Squad-level to maintain the flow of value. Facilitate the removal of blockers and impediments to the Squad’s progress with support from Tribe leadership where required.
• Ensure adherence to Guardrails where applicable to Squad-level activities.
• Own and manage risks, issues, and dependencies at Squad-level. Manage and resolve intra-Squad dependencies, working with other Scrum Masters within the Tribe.
• Facilitate Squad-level ceremonies like Daily Huddles/Stand-ups, Sprint Planning, Sprint Demos, Sprint Review, etc.
• Track and report on Squad’s progress on Sprint goals to Tribe Leadership. Use visual management tools to report on Squad performance.
• Accountability for the overall process the Squad follows to deliver value.
• Manage Squad capacity, utilization, and velocity. Actively engage with other Scrum Masters in the Tribe and Tribe leadership to discuss resourcing and utilization strategies.
• Support the Product Owner in ensuring alignment of Squad backlog with Tribe OKRs.
• Coach the Squad team on Agile ways of working and how to use Agile most effectively.
• Drive collaboration and continuous improvement mindset in the Squad.
• Drives transparency and openness of communication in the Squad.

Key Interactions

• Coach Squad team members in Lean-Agile practices and mindsets.
• Support Product Owner(s) with Squad backlog management.
• Collaborate and consult with other Scrum Masters in the Tribe to manage resourcing and dependencies.
• Supports Tribe leadership in optimizing value flow for the Tribe.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Excellent communication skills.
• Proven work experience as a Scrum Master, with expertise and in-depth knowledge in Agile practices and ways of working – and relevant qualifications is a plus.
• Experience with using Agile working tools (i.e. Jira, or Azure DevOps, or similar).
• Good understanding of typical Agile roles and the required skills and capabilities within the Tribe and Squads.

Desirable Knowledge and Skills

• Coaching, group leadership, and team-building experience/skills (and/or qualifications)
• Experience/understanding of Cloud-based technology solutions and delivery, including concepts like containerization, API management gateways, CI/CD pipelines, etc.

Agile Coach

Context

We are also looking for a candidate to fulfil the Agile Coach duties at a Tribe level. If you are a very experienced Agilist/Scrum Master, you could temporarily take on the Agile Coach role for the Lean-Agile implementation period.

The Objective of the Role

An Agile Coach guides the Tribe through the implementation of Lean-Agile practices. The ultimate goal is to upskill agile teams with the right knowledge, mindset, and tools to reach the full potential of working in a truly agile manner. The Agile Coach is a temporary role that is essential at the beginning of a Lean-Agile implementation and scaled agile adoption but should not be necessary once an agile way of working and mindset is fully embedded in the Tribe.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Tribe leadership in following agile principles in their day to day activities and roll out Admiral’s scaled agile framework practices for the Tribe.
• Provide practical tips on how to respond to real-life scenarios that Tribes will encounter while remaining true to the agile principles.
• Provide timely feedback to ensure legacy ways of working and behaviours do not creep in the Tribes (especially under pressure situations).
• Hold leadership accountable to agile leadership behaviours and ways of working.
• Support APMO in rolling out agile governance and planning through the QBR process.
• Facilitate key events and ceremonies at Portfolio, Tribe, and Squad level.

About Admiral Financial Services (AFSL)

Admiral Financial Services (AFSL) is the young, energetic lending arm of Admiral Group. Based in Ty Admiral, we have the freedom to innovate like a small start-up with the fortunate support of Admiral Group.  

The journey started for us when we launched unsecured personal loans in June 2017. We went on to be the first direct to consumer car finance provider in December 2017 and since then, we have gone from strength to strength!

Our vision is simple, we’re creating a special lending business for our customers whilst also ensuring AFSL is a fantastic place to work. 

As a business, it’s important that our staff must be transparent, creative, curious and challenge with care, all whilst being actively involved in our culture.

Our success goes hand-in-hand with having a strong culture where we put our people and customers first. Our philosophy is simple yet effective: people who like what they do, do it better, and this in turn, means that our customers receive the level of service and products that they deserve. Our culture is honest, open and wholeheartedly focused on four key areas: Communication, Equality, Reward & Recognition, and Fun.

Salary, Benefits and Work-Life Balance

We do not have a set salary for this position, as it will be dependent on the successful candidate’s experience. We are happy to see CVs from all candidates who meet the requirements and will be happy to discuss the remuneration package.

At Admiral, we are proud to be a diverse business where we put our people and customers first. We have great benefits to ensure employees have a great work-life balance; it's one of the reasons we're voted no. 1 in the 2019 Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work For in the UK. We want you to have an element of freedom to define a working lifestyle that supports this, so accommodate flexible hours wherever possible.

If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please complete an online application form. Please note, we are unable to accept CVs via email.

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