At Ascensus, technology is more than just a solution. It powers the business that helps millions of people save for what matters—retirement, education, and healthcare. Our technology experts tackle exciting challenges in collaborative teams, but work in an environment where individual and career development is always valued. Technology associates leverage their talents and passion, building new and innovative platforms, creating programs founded in automation in agile frameworks, and driving existing and new markets—all of which supports the rapid growth of a dynamic industry leader.

Section 1: Position Summary

Work with scrum team(s) to ensure effective application of Agile practices and Scrum framework to project execution. Will model and promote Agile values and principles. Will advocate positive refinements in existing practices to create better alignment with agile principles.

Section 2: Job Functions, Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Guides the team and organization on how to leverage Agile/Scrum practices and values to maximize the delivery of business value.

• Acts to apply Agile/Scrum practices in a manner to best suit the needs of the organization.

• Tracks and publishes prescribed team metrics.

• Guides the team on applying self-organizing, self-corrective behaviors; analyzing and adapting to the feedback inputs (eg. Metrics, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives, etc.), all for the purpose of building high performing teams.

• Removes impediments and guides the team to remove its own impediments

• Builds a trusting environment where issues are raised without fear of blame, retribution, or being judged, with an emphasis on correcting and problem solving.

• Facilitates the completion of assignments efficiently and without coercion, assigning, or dictating the work.

• Champions collaborative discussion, decision making, and problem solving.

• Assists with internal and external communication, improving transparency, and radiating information.

• Coordinates and encourages participation from all team members in scrum ceremonies (Scrum, Backlog Refinement, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Retrospective) and longer term planning exercises (Road Mapping, Release Planning)

• Supports and educates the Product Owner in applying the scrum framework and agile principles, and in particular the importance of refining and maintaining the product backlog.

• Continually enhances own domain knowledge of systems, products, and industry.

• Continually improve Scrum Master skills through education and engaging with fellow Scrum Masters and practitioners

• Works with Product Owner and Team to plan and execute project implementations.

• Assists in the identification and mitigation of project risks.

• Ensures Definition of Done (DOD) & Definition of Ready (DOR) are met consistently

• Provides Scrum Master services to multiple teams, when required

• Identifies and acts on coaching opportunities at the individual and team level

• Conducts regular assessments of a team’s Scrum Maturity and uses the results to guide them to improved performance

• Participates in organizational assessments of agile practices and takes ownership of resulting action items to advance the agile transformation

• Leads Scrum Masters in developing their skill set by identifying educational opportunities and leading discussions on applicable topics.

• Contributes to the identification, tracking, and removal of impediments at various levels within the organization.

• Installs/applies enterprise agile practices from SAFe, or other similar frameworks, to support scaling of scrum teams

• Responsible for protecting, securing, and proper handling of all confidential data held by Ascensus to ensure against unauthorized access, improper transmission, and/or unapproved disclosure of information that could result in harm to Ascensus or our clients.

• Our I-Client service philosophy and our Core Values of People Matter, Quality First and Integrity Always® should be visible in your actions on a day to day basis showing your support of our organizational culture.

• Assist with other tasks and projects as assigned

Supervision

• N/A

Section 3: Experience, Skills, Knowledge Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of Agile/Scrum principles and practices .

• Experience as a Scrum Master for a minimum of five years for a software development team that was applying Agile/Scrum principles and practices that are consistent with those at Ascensus.

• Experience with creating Scrum metrics and applying those metrics to enhance team performance

• Good skills and knowledge of servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency.

• Ability to anticipate issues based on experience to help the team avoid or resolve the issues.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

• Excellent oral and written communication skills including active listening.

• Knowledge of PC applications including MS Office products

• Strong experience with Jira, TFS, or other comparable agile project management tools

• Knowledge of common business applications and analytical tools.

• Certified Scrum Master (Scrum Alliance)

• Knowledge of and/or experience with writing effective user stories and acceptance criteria.

• Previous leadership experience

• Proven mentoring skills.

• Familiar with SAFe and/or other enterprise agile frameworks.

Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Experience as a Scrum Master for a minimum of eight years for a software development team that was applying Agile/Scrum principles and practices that are consistent with those at Ascensus.

• Knowledge of other Agile approaches: XP, Kanban, Crystal, FDD, etc.

• Experience with EasyBI

• Applicable knowledge of the technologies used by the team.

• Scrum Master experience in an organization during an agile transformation

• Successful application of SAFe and/or other enterprise agile frameworks

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

Be aware of employment fraud. All email communications from Ascensus or its hiring managers originate from @ascensus.com or @futureplan.com email addresses. We will never ask you for payment or require you to purchase any equipment. If you are suspicious or unsure about validity of a job posting, we strongly encourage you to apply directly through our website.

Ascensus provides equal employment opportunities to all associates and applicants for employment without regard to ancestry, race, color, religion, sex, (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and/or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, military or veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, criminal conviction record or any other protected category in accordance with applicable federal, state, or local laws (“Protected Status”).