Agile Coach

Role Overview

This role is key in Agile Transformations as they will not only provide guidance in cross-team coordination, dependency resolution, and program delivery, they also influence people leaders and management that directly interface with and oversee delivery teams. An ideal candidate shows great aptitude in diving into the details but also is able to strategize, develops and facilitates training easily, has a practical approach to communication and delivery, and is able to directly mentor the various roles at the program level.

Responsibilities include (but may not be limited to) :

• Provides thought leadership and influences people leaders and teams to learn about agile principles and its benefits in order to become champions of change
• Performs detailed assessment of the current processes, tools, roles and responsibilities within their designated program / team of teams area to understand gaps in relation to the desired future state
• Makes recommendations on ideal team selection for Agile Release Trains or Team of Team structures
• Evaluates culture and mindset to identify barriers to successful transformation and delivery
• Outlines expectations and practices from a program perspective as a Program / Team of Teams Playbook
• Is able to leverage Client’s existing / established team and program-related Agile practices and build upon those to avoid unnecessary reinvention
• Makes recommendations specific to a program area, defines roles and responsibilities, and supports any structural changes needed to optimize transformation outcomes
• Makes recommendations to install any needed System Team or Shared Services Team to support the compilation of teams within the program to drive coordinated delivery and transparency
• Outlines necessary program-level ceremonies and practices to ensure Epic and Features are readied for the delivery teams
• Provides direct support to Product Managers and Product Owners in relation to the Product Management life cycle (i.e. Epic / Feature / Story / Backlog Creation), as well as Architectural input as enablers to delivery
• Works with team-level Coaches and / or Scrum Masters to verify teams have what they need to be successful
• Trains and mentors roles such as Release Train Engineers, Program Managers, Release Managers, People Leaders (i.e. Development Managers, Middle Management) and Team-Level Coaches; working continuously with the Client to overcome Agile maturity gaps through regular assessment
• Especially focused on multi-team delivery efforts, and orchestrating large-scale planning events
• Develops and delivers Agile-related training materials needed across the program with the goal of producing high-performing teams
• Suggests key program metrics to evaluate Agile adoption, as well as value delivered metrics to show if the program / teams are “working on the right things”
• Employs various techniques to increase collaboration, transparency, predictability, and delivery of value
• Easily steps into key program roles, such as Program Manager, Product Manager, Release Train Engineer / Chief Scrum Master, Product Owner, or Scrum Master in order to execute and showcase the way the role should be performed, which can be used as a teaching tool for new personnel
• Works with program leaders to establish cadence for releases and planning, as well as large-scale retrospectives and problem resolution workshops
• Supports large-scale Program Planning or Big Room Planning events by designing the approach / agenda, facilitating such planning, and / or mentoring Release Train Engineers or Program Leaders as they facilitate these events
• Supports large-scale Retrospectives and Problem-Solving Workshops through designing the approach / agenda, facilitating the event, and / or mentoring Release Train Engineers or Program Leaders as they facilitate these events
• Provides upward feedback to leaders and portfolio-level to improve efficacy
• Participates and oversees various Communities of Practice to sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving skills in relation to agility