Scrum Master Specialist

Job Role:

Scrum Master + Agile Coach is, responsible for fostering agile principles and practices across multiple teams. This individual will act as a leader, guiding and coaching development teams, product owners, and other stakeholders to optimize their performance, improve collaboration, and deliver high-quality solutions efficiently. Scrum Master responsibilities, this role involves coaching at various organizational levels, championing agile methodologies, and contributing to the continuous improvement of agile maturity.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the Scrum Master for 1-6 agile development squads, ensuring adherence to Scrum principles and practices.
• Facilitate all Scrum ceremonies (e.g., Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective) effectively and efficiently.
• Remove impediments to the team's progress, both internal and external, proactively identifying and addressing issues.
• Coach the Development Team on self-organization, cross-functionality, and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with the Product Owner to ensure a healthy and refined product backlog.
• Protect the team from outside interruptions and distractions.
• Support the team in achieving their sprint goals and release objectives.
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration within the team and with external stakeholders.
• Coach individuals, teams, and managers on agile principles, values, practices, and frameworks (e.g., Agility, Scrum, Kanban, Lean, SAFe).
• Assess the agile maturity of teams and the organization, and coach them to higher levels of maturity, at a pace that is sustainable and appropriate for the enterprise.
• Help teams and stakeholders understand and implement agile metrics for continuous improvement and transparency.
• Mentor other Scrum Masters and agile practitioners within Highmark, sharing best practices and fostering a community of practice.
• Facilitate organizational change and adoption of agile practices beyond the team level, addressing systemic impediments.
• Conduct workshops, training sessions, and brown-bag lunches on agile topics.
• Promote a culture of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
• Act as a change agent, influencing and educating stakeholders at various levels of the organization on agile benefits and challenges.
• Contribute to the development and evolution of Highmark's agile playbook, standards, and guidelines.
• Participate in the Agile Center of Excellence (CoE) or similar groups to drive consistent agile adoption and improvement.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements and efficiency gains within the agile delivery model.
• Stay current with industry trends and best practices in agile development and coaching.

Experience:

• 8 to 14 years of experience working in an agile environment, with at least 4 years as a dedicated Scrum Master.
• 2+ years of experience in an Agile Coach role, coaching multiple teams and stakeholders at various organizational levels (good to have).
• Experience working in large-scale, complex organizations, preferably within the healthcare or insurance industry.
• Proven experience in facilitating large groups, resolving conflicts, and driving consensus. • Experience with scaled agile frameworks (e.g., SAFe, LeSS, DaD) is highly desirable.

• Certifications (Required/Preferred):

1. Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) required.

2. Advanced Scrum Master certification (CSM II, A-CSM, PSM II) preferred.

3. Agile Coach certifications (e.g., ICAgile Certified Agile Coach - ACC, SAFe Release Train Engineer - RTE, SAFe Agilist - SA) highly preferred.

4. PMP or other project management certifications a plus.

Skills:

• Deep understanding of agile principles, values, and a variety of agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, XP, Lean).
• Handon Experience on GitLab platform.
• Excellent servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and transparency skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal, written, and presentation) to effectively interact with all levels of the organization.
• Ability to coach and mentor effectively, adapting style to individual and team needs.
• Proficiency with agile lifecycle management tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, Rally).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and resolve complex issues.

Good to Have:

• Good Communication Skills.
• Capable of handling one or 10+ people in team as a Scrum Master.
• Familiarity with Scrum and Agile methodology, JIRA tool.
• Experience with Pega/Web based application.
• Knowledge on US HealthCare system.