Lead Agile Coach - Azure DevOps

Stafford Gray•Lansing, MI

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a hands-on coaching role. You will work directly with management, Product and Service Owners, Scrum Masters, and team members — coaching leaders on Agile and product ownership while working shoulder-to-shoulder with teams on their day-to-day execution and their ADO boards. Teams range widely in Agile maturity, and several are not traditional software-development teams. On-site in Lansing two days per week; remainder remote.

Requirements

8+ years of experience working in Agile delivery environments
5+ years of Agile coaching, Agile leadership, Scrum Master, Product Owner coaching, or Agile transformation experience
Demonstrated experience coaching multiple teams simultaneously
Strong hands-on experience with Azure DevOps, specifically ADO Boards
Experience establishing and managing Agile backlogs within Azure DevOps
Strong understanding of Scrum, Kanban, Agile product management, backlog management, user story development, estimation and planning, Agile metrics, and continuous improvement
Experience coaching Product Owners, Scrum Masters, managers, and senior leaders
Demonstrated ability to assess team maturity and create practical improvement plans
Strong facilitation skills and experience leading workshops with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Able to work on-site in Lansing, Michigan two days per week

Nice To Haves

Agile coaching engagements within large enterprises or government and public-sector organizations
Experience implementing Agile practices with teams that are not traditional software-development teams — business, operations, security, compliance, asset management, or shared services
Enterprise Agile transformations or Agile Centers of Excellence
Experience developing Agile maturity assessments and multi-year adoption roadmaps
Familiarity with DevOps concepts and the relationship between Agile delivery and DevOps practices
Certifications such as Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC), SAFe Agilist, PMI-ACP, or an Agile Coaching certification

Responsibilities

Serve as the lead Agile Coach across multiple teams with varying Agile and Azure DevOps maturity
Assess current Agile practices and identify opportunities to improve team maturity, consistency, and adoption
Coach teams on Agile principles, Scrum and Kanban practices, backlog management, prioritization, estimation, planning, and continuous improvement
Facilitate or coach teams through sprint and iteration planning, backlog refinement, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews and demos, and retrospectives
Help teams move from using Agile terminology to consistently applying Agile practices in their daily work
Identify impediments to Agile adoption and work with leadership on practical solutions
Coach managers and Product/Service Owners on effectively performing the Product Owner role
Improve how work is defined and prioritized, how backlogs are built and maintained, and how epics, features, user stories, tasks, and acceptance criteria are written
Help establish clear business priorities, manage stakeholder expectations, and measure outcomes and team performance
Provide leadership with recommendations for improving Agile maturity and sustaining long-term adoption
Partner with Azure DevOps specialists and client teams to establish and mature ADO boards
Coach teams on effective use of Boards, Backlogs, epics/features/stories/tasks, Queries, Dashboards, work-item management, and sprint and iteration planning
Ensure ADO configuration and processes support each team's Agile operating model
Establish consistent standards and best practices across multiple ADO teams
Facilitate working sessions to build, organize, and refine team backlogs
Help teams translate business objectives into actionable work items
Improve story quality, acceptance criteria, estimation, prioritization, and definition of done
Establish practical processes teams can continue using independently after the coaching engagement
Help teams use metrics and dashboards to improve transparency, predictability, and decision-making
Evaluate the Agile maturity of individual teams and leadership groups
Develop actionable recommendations based on each team's maturity level
Identify training and coaching needs for managers, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, champions, and team members
Establish measurable Agile maturity goals and track progress
Help develop longer-term coaching, training, and adoption roadmaps
Build internal Agile champions capable of sustaining the practices after the engagement