Scrum Master :: Richmond, VA

ARK Solutions - Richmond, VA

Full-time - Mid Level

Richmond, VA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

Ark Solutions Inc is seeking a dedicated and experienced Scrum Master to join our team in Richmond, VA. This position is expected to last for 10 months, with the possibility of extension based on project needs. As a Scrum Master, you will play a crucial role in facilitating Agile practices within the team and ensuring that the Scrum process is followed effectively. You will collaborate closely with various product owners and teams to understand their needs and translate them into actionable requirements. Your leadership and coaching will be essential in supporting the Scrum Team and fostering a productive environment. In this role, you will coordinate Agile ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Retrospectives, Sprint Demos, Story Refinement, and Release Planning. You will work with your team to define a clear vision and create a product roadmap that aligns with this vision. Additionally, you will assist the product owner in managing the product backlog, prioritizing tasks based on changing requirements and project timelines. Your ability to establish an effective working environment will be key, as you will help remove obstacles and protect the team from outside interruptions. You will exemplify a Lean-Agile mindset through servant leadership, anticipating challenges, identifying risks, and recommending solutions. Tracking and reporting team velocity and other project metrics will be part of your responsibilities, as will promoting continuous improvement to enhance the productivity of the Scrum Team. Collaboration with product owners and end-users will be vital to delivering business value, and you will ensure that the teams adhere to core Agile principles and standards throughout the project lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with various product owners and teams to understand and anticipate their needs and translate them into requirements.
• Provide collaboration, facilitation, leadership, and coaching, supporting the Scrum Team and the scrum process.
• Coordinate Agile Ceremonies such as Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Retrospectives, Sprint Demos, Story Refinement, and Release Planning.
• Define the vision for the team and create the product roadmap based on this vision.
• Aid the product owner in managing the product backlog and prioritizing based on changing requirements and project timelines.
• Establish an environment where the teams can be effective and help remove obstacles.
• Protect the team from outside interruptions and distractions.
• Ensure a good relationship between the team and product owner as well as others outside the team.
• Exemplify a Lean-Agile mindset through servant leadership.
• Anticipate challenges, identify risks, and recommend mitigations and solutions.
• Track and report team velocity and other project metrics.
• Support changes and promote continuous improvement that helps increase productivity of the Scrum Team.
• Collaborate effectively with the product owners and end-users to deliver business value.
• Ensure the teams are practicing core Agile principles and adhering to agile standards.

Requirements

• 5-10 years of practical experience serving as Scrum Master with a solid comprehension of Agile values, principles, methodologies, and the development lifecycle.
• Thorough understanding of Agile software development life cycle and hands-on experience working with development teams.
• Ability to identify cross-team dependencies and align work optimally.
• Ability to work with customers, understand their business practices and manage their expectations.
• Ability to set clear performance standards and hold team members accountable, while keeping the team engaged and on track.
• Track progress of team performance utilizing appropriate metrics and foster adoption of a high-performing Agile culture by working closely with the Leadership team.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, mentoring, and servant leadership skills with proven ability to remove impediments from the team.
• Ability to foresee potential conflict and bring existing conflicts to positive resolution.
• Ability to balance the competing demands for quality, scope, and schedule.
• Ability to analyze and document business and system processes.
• CSM Certification required.
• PSM Certification preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• PSM Certification preferred.