OMF IT Scrum Master (12 Month Contract) (Pinelands) at Old Mutual South Africa

Job Description

• Old Mutual Finance is seeking a motivated and experienced Scrum Master to join the IT Product and Enablement Division. This individual will play a crucial role in fostering Agile principles, facilitating team success, and driving the delivery of high-quality, customer-centric IT products and solutions. The Scrum Master will act as a servant-leader, ensuring the team operates efficiently while delivering value in alignment with Old Mutual Finance’s strategic goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitation and Coaching
• Guide the team in applying Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) and principles effectively.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning within the team.
• Facilitate Scrum ceremonies: sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
• Coach team members on Agile roles, responsibilities, and practices.
• Team Enablement and Support
• Act as a servant leader, removing obstacles and shielding the team from external distractions.
• Encourage collaboration and self-organization within the team.
• Support the Product Owner in maintaining a clear, prioritized product backlog.
• Ensure the team’s deliverables align with stakeholder expectations and project timelines.
• Ensure the team has the resources and tools needed to deliver high-quality solutions.
• Foster collaboration and open communication within the team and across stakeholders.
• Delivery Assistance
• Monitor and report on team performance, velocity, and sprint progress.
• Identify and mitigate risks to the delivery process.
• Support the Product Owner in maintaining a prioritized and well-defined backlog.
• Promote efficient workflow and resolve bottlenecks.
• Drive a culture of delivering incremental value to customers through iterative development cycles.
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Foster strong relationships with key stakeholders, including Product Owners, developers, QA, and business partners.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including business analysts, developers, testers, and external stakeholders.
• Facilitate communication between the team and stakeholders to ensure alignment and transparency.
• Continuous Improvement
• Identify opportunities to improve Agile processes and team dynamics.
• Implement practices to improve team velocity, predictability, and quality of deliverables.
• Encourage feedback loops between the team and stakeholders to refine workflows and outcomes.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Educational Background:

• A Scrum Master certification (e.g., CSM, PSM) is mandatory.

Professional Experience:

• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience as a Scrum Master in IT, preferably in financial services or a related sector.
• Proven experience in leading Agile teams and delivering IT products in a fast-paced environment.
• Solid understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban.

Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent facilitation, coaching, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong problem-solving and conflict-resolution abilities.
• Proficiency in Agile project management tools (e.g., Jira, Trello, Azure DevOps).
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to adapt to diverse team dynamics.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced certifications (e.g., PMI-ACP, SAFe Scrum Master) are a plus.
• Experience working in a scaled Agile environment (e.g., SAFe, LeSS).
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools.
• Background in financial technology or IT solutions for the financial services industry.

Key Attributes

• A proactive mindset with a focus on delivering customer value.
• Strong ability to mentor and inspire team members.
• Passion for driving innovation and embracing new technologies.
• Commitment to Old Mutual Finance’s values.

Competencies

• Business Insight
• Collaborates
• Communicates Effectively
• Cultivates Innovation
• Decision Quality
• Directs Work
• Drives Engagement
• Drives Results
• Education