Manager, IT Governance: Scrum / Agile

OCC • Chicago, IL

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

This strategic leadership role drives organizational Agile transformation by leading a team of practitioners who teach, mentor, and advise stakeholders across the enterprise on Agile methodologies and practices. The position demands proven expertise in multiple Agile frameworks at both program and team levels, combined with demonstrated people management capabilities to foster operational excellence and continuous improvement. As a transformation catalyst, you will shape how delivery teams mature their Agile capabilities while influencing senior stakeholders to create an environment where Agile principles become embedded in the organization’s operational DNA. This role also serves as a Jira Product Manager, owning the configuration, governance, and optimization of Jira as the enterprise Agile delivery platform.

Requirements

• Agile Leadership & Transformation
• Demonstrated success guiding organizations through Agile transformations with proven frameworks for building high-performing Agile teams
• Extensive experience leading Scrum Masters, including career development and professional growth of direct reports
• Practical experience implementing and managing Agile-specific metrics and KPIs that drive meaningful improvement
• Technical Knowledge
• Deep understanding of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) with direct implementation experience
• Hands-on experience with multiple Agile methodologies beyond Scrum, including XP, Kanban, and other frameworks
• Proven capability in enterprise-scale release planning and coordination
• Experience consolidating and analyzing data from diverse sources to identify trends and drive decisions
• Proven experience serving as a Jira Product Manager or Jira Administrator, with the ability to translate Agile process needs into tool configurations
• Professional Capabilities
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with ability to influence across all organizational levels
• Strong analytical mindset with exceptional reasoning and problem-solving abilities
• Demonstrated servant leadership approach to team management
• Self-motivated professional capable of working independently with minimal supervision
• Team Experience
• Practical experience working within diverse Scrum teams across varied contexts (team sizes, organizational cultures, co-located/distributed environments)
• Continuous professional development evidenced by recent Agile training, conference participation, and community involvement
• Experience supporting regulatory compliance through documented process flows
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex data sets and translate findings into actionable insights
• Jira Product Manager experience, including administration of projects, workflows, permission schemes, notification schemes, and custom fields at an enterprise scale (5+ years required)
• Advanced proficiency with Jira Advanced Roadmaps (formerly Portfolio) for program-level planning, capacity management, and dependency tracking
• Experience building and maintaining Jira automations, integrations (e.g., Confluence, Bitbucket/GitHub, ServiceNow), and reporting dashboards using native and third-party tools (e.g., EazyBI, Scriptrunner)
• Demonstrated expertise with business productivity tools including Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Project for data analysis and stakeholder communications
• Working knowledge of ServiceNow or similar ticketing systems for process management and workflow automation
• Fundamental understanding of IT infrastructure and systems design principles that impact team operations
• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and 7+ years relevant experience
• Minimum 5 years direct experience as a Scrum Master leading software development teams applying Agile methodologies
• Proven track record managing high-performing Agile teams through complete delivery lifecycles
• Advanced knowledge of Agile/Scrum frameworks with practical application experience across diverse contexts
• Demonstrated ability to proactively identify potential impediments and guide teams toward effective resolution before issues impact delivery
• Experience as a Jira Product Manager or Jira Administrator in an enterprise environment preferred

Nice To Haves

• Professional Agile certifications
• Six Sigma
• Atlassian Certified Professional – Jira Project Administration or similar Atlassian certification

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Coaching
• Lead a high-performing team of Scrum Masters deployed across multiple product teams while managing relationships with managed service providers
• Foster a culture where delivery teams self-organize and achieve objectives through coaching rather than directive management
• Create a psychologically safe environment that encourages transparent problem-solving, constructive conflict resolution, and continuous improvement
• Implement robust accountability frameworks to ensure Scrum Masters fulfill their roles effectively while monitoring team performance metrics
• Serve as the Jira Product Manager, governing project configurations, workflows, permission schemes, and board setups to ensure consistency and alignment across product teams
• Organizational Agile Transformation
• Partner directly with the group Director and cross-functional senior leaders to evolve enterprise Agile capabilities that align with changing business priorities
• Design and implement systematic approaches to mature Agile teams/squads from foundational to advanced practices
• Develop and socialize Agile best practices tailored to the organization's unique context and challenges
• Conduct regular Agile maturity assessments, using insights to create targeted improvement roadmaps
• Own the implementation of the Jira instance strategy, including scheme standardization, custom field management, and automation rules that support Agile maturity progression
• Design and maintain Jira dashboards and Advanced Roadmaps (formerly Jira Portfolio) views that provide leadership with real-time delivery visibility
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Serve as a strategic advisor to Product Owners and delivery teams, modeling servant leadership principles
• Facilitate critical discussions and decision-making forums that drive clarity and alignment
• Establish multi-directional communication frameworks that enhance transparency and information flow
• Proactively identify and mitigate project risks through structured governance approaches
• Continuous Improvement
• Champion a data-driven approach to measuring and improving team performance
• Lead regular retrospectives at the program level to identify systemic improvement opportunities
• Create feedback mechanisms that promote ongoing learning and adaptation
• Continuously evaluate and optimize Jira configurations, automations, and integrations to reduce friction and improve team velocity tracking

Benefits

• A highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness.
• A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work
• Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely
• Generous PTO and Parental leave
• 401k Employer Match
• Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager