Senior Agile Coach (Fixed Term Contract Ending March 2028) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To drive digital transformation by guiding teams in adopting scaled agile practices and methods, fostering collaboration, and aligning business goals with scaled agile methodologies and frameworks, while embedding agile values and mindsets and foster more effective, transparent, and cohesive teams, to enable better outcomes, solutions, and products/services.  Thus, accelerating innovation and value delivery.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Relevant Honours degree (NQF 8) in Computer Science or Engineering with Speciality in Project Management AND 10 – 12 years’ experience in Project or Programme management with a proven track record of 3 - 4 years of agile migration.

Alternatively

• Relevant Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Computer Science or Engineering with Speciality in Project Management AND 12 - 15 years’ experience in Project or Programme management with a proven track record of 3 - 4 years of agile migration.

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Formal certification as agile coach along with other relevant agile industry certification, with the ability to deliver training.

Job Outputs:

Process

• Perform agile maturity assessments to determine the baseline and focus areas for the agile adoption strategy, to measure progress, and to encourage continuous improvement.
• Develop a strategy and roadmap to enable SARS to adopt scaled agile principles and practices.
• Drive scaled agile methodologies within SARS and take responsibility for leading and facilitating end-to-end project delivery incorporating agile principles and practices across multiple Product teams.
• Plan initiatives to lead an enterprise-wide transformational change, post a comprehensive analysis of the organisations’ existing practices, processes, and tools, including ongoing analysis.
• Promote the adoption of metrics and other objective measures by teams to foster a data-driven approach to performance evaluation.

Governance

• Define precise metrics to gauge the success of the project / initiative, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and providing a clear framework for evaluation.
• Engage in the identification, collection, and reporting of agile practice metrics, contributing to the tracking of progress and the measurement of success.

People

• Assume the role of a leader and coach for a team of Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters, guiding them towards excellence in agile practices.
• Provide expert advice to teams on the application of scaled agile frameworks, fine-tuning their methodologies, and promoting an ethos of ongoing enhancement.
• Coach and mentor leaders and teams on agile mindset, methods, and tools ensuring the permeation of best practices from the upper echelons of the organization.
• Develop SARS-specific training courses, playbooks, and other assets to enable the adoption and maturing of agile principles and practices across SARS and deliver training in-person and online.
• Orchestrate workshops for both developer and functional teams, as well as key stakeholders, to impart agile techniques and foster a culture of continuous improvement in the organisation.
• Lead stand-up meetings with cross-functional teams to review product statuses and ensure alignment with product objectives.

Finance

• Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of specialisation.

Client

• Offer valuable strategic insights that inform and shape enterprise and divisional strategies, driving organizational growth and innovation.
• Act as a catalyst in nurturing a culture and practice of disruptive innovation within SARS, leveraging data-driven insights to create additional enterprise value.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking
• Conceptual Ability
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Expertise in Context
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Influencing Others
• Organisational Awareness
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Business Acumen
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Creative and Innovative Thinking
• Development Training
• Efficiency Improvement
• Effective Business Communication
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Planning & Organizing
• Practice and Process Facilitation Skills
• Reporting
• Program and Project Management
• Project Financial Control and Reporting
• Research
• Strategic Planning