Director, Agile Practice Lead

TD Bank•New York, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Defines standards, builds capability, and ensures consistent, high‑quality Agile execution across organization. The Agile Practice Lead is accountable for building, maintaining and evolving the culture and community of Agile Practitioners. The role oversees a team of Agile practitioners, and is responsible for coaching on knowledge, skills and performance, building and evolving the Practice's capabilities, and advising practitioners on their work to ensure solutions are sound. Provides people management leadership by hiring the best talent, setting goals, developing staff, managing employee performance and compensation decisions, promoting teamwork and handling any/all disciplinary actions, as required. Recognized as an Agile expert whose focus is on the coaching and training of practitioners. People leader with expert knowledge of Agile disciplines and practices. Deep expertise and knowledge of TD frameworks and Agile methodology, tools, best practices, processes and procedures, as well as broader organization issues. Proven ability in managing large teams. Provides guidance on the work of practitioners as related to the quality of product(s)/work being produced, delivered & speed of delivery / to market. Ability to provide guidance and oversight to multiple teams, growing capability across the organization. Quickly adapts to customer, stakeholder and regulatory needs in collaboration with Platform and Journey teams. Experienced in the continuous assessment of Practitioners and their craft to ensure enterprise practice standards are upheld. Provides leadership and guidance to several teams and solves cross-department issues; Participates in the development of business and practice strategies. Expert collaborator with ability to bring diverse teams together to achieve a common goal. Resolves most unique and complex problems that have a broad impact on the business. Offers advice, guidance and training on how to transition to and operate in scaled delivery environments across all levels. Understands multiple scaling approaches and leverages industry best practices to support the best outcomes.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive financial services experience across agile, change management, transformation, strategy, portfolio, and/or regulatory teams
Proven experience supporting product‑led, agile, or technology‑driven transformations
Deep hands‑on experience with scaling Agile as Practice Lead or Agile Coach
Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems in ambiguous environments
Proven success leading cross‑domain, enterprise‑scale initiatives, balancing business priorities, financial rigor, and technology execution.
Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to operate effectively with senior leadership.
Fosters an inclusive team culture where all colleagues feel safe
Undergraduate degree
10+ years of related experience
Expert knowledge of financial services/capital markets from a strategic perspective, including managing/directing teams and projects
Agile certifications are required
Undergraduate or post graduate degree
Certified Scrum Master and/or Certified Scrum Master in scaled Agile framework (e.g., SAFE) and 7+ years of Scrum Master experience
Typically requires 10 years of Agile experience
5+ years' experience as an Agile coach involved in large-scale Agile transformations
Expert knowledge of Agile principles and practices, with extensive experience working in an Agile
Advanced knowledge of agile theory, methodology – including scaling -, techniques, rules, and practices, estimating / sizing, product management, planning, forecasting, conflict resolution, coaching / leverage models, capacity and capability building and facilitation
Knowledge of current and emerging competitor and market trends
Ability to establish goals and objectives that support the strategic plan and delivery execution for multiple and/or scaled teams
Ability to contribute to strategic direction of the function and provide advice to the team and all levels of leadership
Ability to support forecasting initiatives and demand in order to help develop annual strategic plan
Advanced ability to lead, plan, implement and evaluate work commitments to ensure completion of product initiatives
Skill in preparing and managing budgets and resource allocation
Advanced skill in mentoring, coaching, listening, providing feedback and performance management
Skill in using analytical software tools, data analysis methods and reporting techniques
Skill in using computer applications including MS Office and industry standard Agile tools such as Jira and Confluence
Ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written form to all levels and types of stakeholders (i.e. business, technology, sponsors and control functions)
Ability to work collaboratively and build relationships across teams and functions
Ability to work successfully as a member of a team and independently
Ability to exercise sound judgement in making decisions
Ability to analyze, organize and prioritize work while meeting multiple deadlines
Ability handle confidential information with discretion

Responsibilities

Own the Agile operating model, standards, playbooks, and tooling strategy (with portfolio management team)
Ensure alignment to industry scaled frameworks
Build, mentor, and performance‑manage Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters
Define career paths, role expectations, and learning curriculums for Agile roles
Ensure teams apply Agile correctly and consistently without adding bureaucracy
Partner with Product, Technology, Portfolio, and Risk to resolve execution friction
Establish outcome‑focused metrics (flow, predictability, quality, value realization)
Act as senior advisor to executives on Agile adoption and scaling
Partner with Product leadership on product-centric ways of working
Partner with Portfolio Management on capacity, funding models, and prioritization
Accountable for coaching the team of practitioners' knowledge, skills and performance, building and evolving Scaled Agile capabilities, and advising practitioners on their work to ensure solutions are sound and follow Agile methodology
Directly leads a team of highly skilled Practitioners in Agile methodology frameworks without getting involved in day-to-day activities, providing quality assurance on the application of methods and practices owned within the applicable Journeys and Platforms
Executes on Practice strategy as it relates to introducing Agile focussed tools, methodologies and processes across the enterprise
Responds to inquiries from stakeholders at all levels in the organization (technical, business, Senior and Executive Management) and addresses/escalates concerns
Provides overall team leadership, training, coaching, development, succession, recruitment and resource management, engaging with Platform and Journey leads throughout
Accountability to understand the current skills and capabilities within the Agile practice; identifies potential steps to accelerate and reach the next level of capability
Accountable for hiring the best talent, growing these colleagues and managing retention
Acts as an expert or lead innovator and culture change agent for the Agile practice amongst Business, Journey, and Platform leaders
Works closely with key business leaders to develop product roadmap, ensuring the optimal use of resources and leverage TD’s delivery operating model to maximize efficiency, effectiveness and scale
Advises, guides and executes on strategic ceremonies, reviews and communicates results, and adjust tactics accordingly
Proactively identifies change execution risks (related to methodology) and develops coaching plans to manage risk
Adheres to enterprise governance to ensure that work commitments meet all the performance, quality and compliance standards and follows the methodology
Investigates and where necessary escalates all change execution issues to support effective resolution and increase team performance
Monitors delivery execution health continuously and engages stakeholders as required if work commitment status changes
Develops innovative approaches (and leverages industry best practice) to resolve delivery execution problems /significant issues within the Journey, Platform or work commitment
Effectively builds momentum among team and stakeholders
Proactively identify key business opportunities, research and recommend enhancements / modifications, develop strategies to achieve recommendations and work closely with team to execute and implement
Protect the interests of the organization – identify and manage risks, and escalate non-standard, high risk activities as necessary
Keeps abreast of emerging issues, trends, and evolving regulatory requirements and assess potential impacts
Maintains a culture of risk management and control, supported by effective processes in alignment with risk appetite
Ensures employees are knowledgeable and assumes responsibility to minimize operational and regulatory risk by complying with Bank and industry Code of Conduct
Provides insights, builds the proper behaviours and culture to delivery success business outcomes faster and improve delivery predictability using Agile
Grows team expertise to align with business/enterprise demand and direction; assess team skills and capabilities and continually look for ways to provide and enhance the value delivered
Coaches and develops employees and ensures performance management activities are undertaken and provides regular input into employee assessments and development plans
Facilitates and fosters a Community of Interest that engages members to use their knowledge and network to develop the craft and builds on the community across the organization
Leads the process of setting performance objectives for the Agile team through coaching plans; track, monitor and effectively address and/or reward performance in a timely manner
Manages employees in compliance with all human resources policies, procedures and guidelines of conduct
Shares knowledge, information, skills, and subject matter expertise among the Agile team – or relevant stakeholders - and ensure the timely communication of issues and encourage good working relationships with other functions and teams
Responsible for management of the overall team(s)/ Practice providing both leadership and guidance
Sets targets and objectives for the team, and deliver results
Fosters an environment/culture that encourages productivity, innovation, process improvement, teamwork and a high level of professionalism
Drives change through positive reinforcement of milestones and successes
Creates an environment where the team freely escalates business challenges
Establishes and fosters a cohesive and collaborative team; promote a fair and equitable environment that supports a diverse workforce and encourage the team to achieve common goals and objectives
Conducts formal performance reviews and provide on-going feedback; coach and develop employees and ensure performance management and development planning activities are undertaken and completed
Acts as a brand ambassador for their respective area and the bank, both internally and/or externally