Scrum Master

Job Title: Scrum Master Term: 12 months Location: Nairobi, Kenya Reports to: Technical Program Manager Level: Intermediate/ Senior (4-8 years of relevant experience). Key Responsibilities - Facilitate and coordinate Scrum ceremonies (Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, Retrospective) with clear agendas, time-boxing, and documented outcomes (decisions, risks, actions, owners, due dates). - Own and maintain the team's delivery metrics dashboard (sprint velocity, burndown/burnup, defect rates, cycle time, cumulative flow), surfacing trends and escalating concerns to the TPM. - Actively identify, track, and remove constraints blocking squad members from delivering sprint goals; escalate cross-organizational blockers to the TPM within agreed SLAs. - Coach squad members and relevant stakeholders on agile principles, Scrum practices, and delivery best practices, progressively building internal agile capability. - Facilitate cross-squad coordination where multiple technical work streams (Backend, Frontend, API, Data) have interdependent sprint commitments. - Support knowledge transfer by ensuring that process documentation, decision logs, and sprint artefacts are maintained in the agreed shared workspace. - Report on delivery health metrics at fortnightly steering cadence, partnering with the TPM for programme-level reporting. Measurable Outcomes & Deliverables First 30 Days - Attend all Scrum ceremonies and produce baseline assessment of ceremony health, compliance, and documentation gaps. - Own the delivery metrics dashboard and report on velocity, burndown, defect rates, and cycle time and report any present gaps. - Produce a cross-squad dependency register across Backend, Frontend, API, and Data workstreams. - Confirm fortnightly steering cadence with the TPM and key stakeholders. Days 31–60 - Sprint velocity stabilizing; at least two consecutive sprints with 80% sprint goal achievement. - DoD compliance rate tracked and reported; 90% of completed stories meet DoD criteria. - Backlog health confirmed: two sprints of stories refined and sprint-ready at all times. - At least one agile coaching session delivered to client counterparts or junior squad members. - Delivery metrics dashboard live and shared with TPM and stakeholders. Days 61–90 - Retrospective improvement actions tracked; demonstrable improvement in at least two delivery metrics since sprint 1. - Agile maturity assessment (informal) of squad completed; coaching plan for remaining engagement period produced. - All sprint ceremonies running to time and rated as useful by squad members (informal pulse check). - Knowledge transfer - one squad member or stakeholder who has visibly adopted improved Scrum practices through coaching Ongoing KPIs - Enable the squad to consistently achieve agreed sprint goals through effective planning and execution. - Ensure stories meet the agreed Definition of Done before acceptance. - Proactively identify, escalate, and facilitate resolution of delivery blockers and dependencies. - Maintain a healthy, prioritized backlog that supports upcoming sprint planning and delivery. - Drive continuous improvement by facilitating effective sprint ceremonies and retrospectives and ensuring agreed improvement actions are followed through. Stakeholders & Ways of Working Agile Ceremonies Owned: Sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives, backlog refinement. Reporting Cadence: - Fortnightly delivery health summary to TPM. - Sprint metrics dashboard updated at end of each sprint. - Ad-hoc impediment escalation to TPM as required. Cross-Functional Touchpoints: - All squad roles (API Engineer, Backend, Frontend, Data Scientist, UI/UX Designer). - Product Owners and stakeholders attending sprint reviews. - TPM for programme-level dependency and risk alignment. Required Skills & Experience - 4–8 years of experience in Scrum Master or agile delivery roles, with at least 2 years in technology delivery environments. - Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), or equivalent certification required. - Proven ability to facilitate agile ceremonies for cross-functional technical teams, including engineers, data scientists, and designers. - Experience tracking and improving delivery metrics (velocity, cycle time, burndown, DoD compliance). - Strong coaching and facilitation skills; ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. - Demonstrated ability to identify and remove impediments at both team and organizational level. - Experience working in embedded client-side or consulting delivery contexts preferred. - Familiarity with backlog management tools (Jira, Azure DevOps, or equivalent). - Understanding software development lifecycle (SDLC), including testing, integration, and release processes. Preferred / Nice-to-Have Skills - SAFe Agilist or equivalent scaled agile certification. - Experience in fintech, payments, or mobile money delivery environments. - Familiarity with Kanban or hybrid Scrum/Kanban delivery models. - Prior experience embedding within a client organisation in a consulting or secondment capacity. - Experience facilitating agile transformations or team capability-building programmes. - Exposure to API integration, backend, or data science delivery workstreams. Tools & Technologies - Backlog and sprint management: Jira / Azure DevOps / equivalent - Documentation and knowledge base: Confluence / SharePoint - Communication: Microsoft Teams - Metrics and reporting: Jira dashboards / Excel / Azure DevOps dashboards - Retrospective facilitation: Miro or equivalent - Collaboration: Miro / Mural / equivalent virtual whiteboard Originally posted on Himalayas