Enterprise Agility - Scrum Master II

Experience Scrum Master Position with a Leader in the Insurance Industry!

WHY YOU WOULD ENJOY THIS POSITION:

As a Scrum Master working for WoodmenLife you be working on a pivotal delivery team for us. This is a servant leadership position that is part of WoodmenLife’s culture. The Scrum Master position has a career path for the ideal candidate. We are looking for a candidate that has a positive growth mindset and a willingness to jump into new projects with a can-do attitude. WoodmenLife has an awesome culture of caring about it associates, members and the communities that we service. If giving back is something you want to do, then this might be the position for you. If you consider yourself to be a top performer, that has a lot of fun while doing it, this would be a great fit for you. This team is extremely close knit, it's really a family. This team is also known to be high energy, fully engaged, and has a strong servant leadership mindset. Does this sound like your type of position?

QUOTE FROM THE MANAGER:
“Here are five reasons why I love this position and WoodmenLife: First, Scrum Masters are servant leaders/coaches in the organization and can make a true impact to their Delivery Teams and our Agile transformation/journey. Second, WoodmenLife is a company that stands behind our core values and is active in giving back to our community. Third, WoodmenLife as an organization, and specifically the Scrum Master team, has a “team” mentality. We are here to support, encourage and challenge one another to grow. Forth, this is a great place to work that values work-life balance. Fifth, Leadership actively supports our Agile journey and success. The list can go on, but these are five key reasons why I love this position and love WoodmenLife.”

QUOTE FROM A CURRENT SCRUM MASTER ON THE TEAM:
“I love being a servant leader and team coach supporting two delivery teams within the Agile Release Train has been a fulfilling and satisfying journey. Coaching amazing humans within WoodmenLife to ensure a successful outcome for our key strategic efforts. Each day is different, with new experiences, learnings, collaborating and building relationships.”

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

We are WoodmenLife in Omaha. We are one of the best places to work in Omaha and have been in business for 130 years. As a member of the WoodmenLife family, you’re joining others who share your commitment to family, community and country. Through WoodmenLife, you’ll have opportunities to connect with others, give back locally, and honor those who make an impact. As a not-for-profit life insurance company, we’ve been helping to protect the financial future of families, making a difference in hometowns across America since 1890. We are passionate about our members, servicing others, being open minded, providing an environment of inclusion and collaborative spirit. We also provide world class benefits to our teammates. Is this the type of company you could work for?

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR FROM THIS POSITION:

As a Scrum Master II, you'll act on behalf of your team(s) by facilitating clear communication to management and to the team. Our Scrum Masters are open, approachable, collaborative, and enjoy working with passionate people. They're proactive in solving problems to help their team(s) succeed and deliver business value. The Scrum Master drives Agile and Lean frameworks that result in quality product delivery, continuous improvement, and timely releases.

Manages work in progress, removing impediments and promoting transparency by capturing team metrics to drive projects to successful release. Manages day-to-day aspects of an agile team, which includes leading Events and Ceremonies (Backlog, Planning, Review, Retrospectives, and Daily Stand Ups) and be an advocate for autonomous, self-organizing, empowered, and continuously improving teams.

Assists with agile training and coaching, promoting accountability and transparency across all levels of the organization.  Helps teams learn to identify dependencies, skill/knowledge gaps, and other barriers. Ensure your teams’ delivery success by leveraging the appropriate agile methodology (Scrum/Kanban/etc.) to enable predictable, quality delivery while maintaining a focus on the continuous improvement of the team.

Essential Job Functions

• Organizes and facilitates agile team activities and ceremonies (e.g. Planning, Daily stand-up, Backlog Refinement, Demos/Reviews, and Retrospectives).
• In a Scaled Agile model, facilitates scaled planning for the team-e.g. Pre-Planning/Preparation, PI Planning Events and represents the team at broader planning and coordination sessions.
• Actively coaches other leaders, peer roles and individual contributors on continual improvement, growth mindset and maturing current Agile adoption.
• Coaches team members and partners with other Scrum Masters regarding adoption of agile standards, tools, and best practices to improve collaboration and self-management, promoting healthy interactions both with team and with external stakeholders.
• Understands and utilizes Lean-Agile metrics to help teams continually improve. Assesses the Agile/Scrum maturity of the team & coaches the team to higher levels of maturity.
• Understands the mechanics of the Agile framework or method and teaches the specific roles, work products, and activities to team members. Increases team knowledge of Agile/Lean topics helping them understand “why” practices work not just “how.”
• Stays current with Agility industry trends & explores other perspectives.
• Comfortable experimenting with a variety of approaches based on need & fit. Promotes the use of/experimentation with quality/engineering practices.
• Collaborates with the product owner(s) to ensure the team has a healthy product and Sprint backlog.
• Serves as Scrum Master for 2-3 Agile Teams.
• Coaches the team towards the importance of regular sprint reviews/demo to demonstrate finished work to stakeholders and celebrates team achievements.
• Manages and helps the team implement areas of improvement as identified in the Retrospective.
• Facilitates dependency management/risk management/impediment removal for the team.
• Works with Product Owners and Program Managers to understand the product roadmap, priorities, and schedules to guide delivery.
• Enables the team to become high performing through collaboration and a relentless focus on continuous improvement including cross-skilling across the team.
• Communicate with leaders across the organization to ensure transparency into delivery progress, challenges, and risks.
• Support the team in using agile planning and development tools (e.g. Azure DevOps, Sharepoint, M365, etc.).

• Performs other duties as assigned by management.

Minimum Qualifications

This job requires a background that demonstrates the following minimum knowledge, skills, talents, and traits:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or business administration and/or equivalent formal training or work experience.
• 3+ years of experience as a Scrum Master required.
• 2+ years’ experience leading multiple Agile teams on successful software delivery; experience with Agile tools that support metrics and tracking iterative development.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, be approachable and enjoy working with passionate people.
• Demonstrated ability to coach through constructive conflict and adept at building positive partnerships across the organization.
• Awareness of Agile technology practices, techniques, and DevOps (e.g., user stories, Test Driven Development, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, Pairing, Automated Testing).
• Effective facilitation skills at the team and department level. Ability to remain neutral, apply conflict management & establish trust. Ability to have difficult conversations.
• Knowledge and understanding of industry standard software best practices, development lifecycle processes and methodologies.
• Ability to effectively guide teams in the use of Agile/Scrum/Kanban practices to deliver value to our customers.
• Ability to effectively coach the team to higher levels of maturity at a pace that is sustainable and comfortable.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize workload of multiple teams and the work intersections between them.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and is responsible for applying Agile practices, skills, tools and techniques to deliverables, processes, and systems that meet or exceed business needs and expectations.
• Experience working with business end users and stakeholders at all levels in the organization.
• Experience with processes and tools supporting Agile methodologies (ADO, Jira, ServiceNow).
• Self-directed, self-motivated, thirst for knowledge and a passion for learning; ability to take ownership of work and demonstrate initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including organizational, team building, and issue resolution; works effectively with colleagues at all levels.
• Active listener and open to different points of view; flexible and adaptable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong presentation and facilitation skills.

• Ability to get the job done effectively and efficiently; ability to build a trusting work environment where problems can be openly discussed.
• Engages well with others and passionate about providing an exemplary customer experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Agile certifications such as Advanced Certified ScrumMaster, Certified Scrum Professional ScrumMaster, SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Advanced Scrum Master, PMI-ACP.
• Experience leading/facilitating training sessions.
• Experience working in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) strongly preferred.
• Experience partnering with external vendors (integrations, testing, etc.).

If WoodmenLife is the type of company, and the position fits your long-term goals, then please apply on-line and see if it's the right fit for you.

WoodmenLife offers a competitive compensation package and a comprehensive benefits package (https://us63.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/woodmenlife/Posting/View/54). As part of WoodmenLife’s employment process, candidates will be required to complete a criminal background check, credit check (where required for position), Fingerprint check (where required for position), drug screen and reference checks. Any offer of employment will be contingent upon successfully passing the above.

WoodmenLife is committed to excellence in diversity by creating an inclusive work environment that values and respects all individuals. We welcome and embrace associates, regardless of background and beliefs. WoodmenLife respects every associate’s unique perspective and contribution. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that values differences, and creates opportunities for growth, leadership and service. This commitment includes providing equal opportunity in recruitment, employment and promotion, training and community outreach. WoodmenLife is also dedicated to strengthening the communities in which its employees live.

APPLICANTS WITH DISABILITIES SHOULD ADVISE THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION IF SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS ARE NEEDED.

Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society (WoodmenLife) is an equal opportunity employer.