Agile Project Manager - Customer Cultivation

Scrum Master / Agile Project Manager has day-to-day responsibility for managing complex Agile software development programs and projects to completion. You will coordinate and lead the activities of cross-functional teams to develop IT products and projects that support the larger NMG digital business strategy and objectives. This position is responsible for managing and organizing resources, driving decisions, tasks, and deliverables across a wide range of stakeholders to ensure a product or project is successfully completed.       

This is a Project leadership / Team leadership role; however, the most successful candidate will also possess an exceptional customer-facing presence, where their years spent developing crystal clear communication plans appropriate for all levels of the organization will be on display. The breadth of their assignments will involve working closely with business, product and technical teams and then being able to quickly pivot and provide summarized progress updates to the senior leadership team. Having a calm demeanor and possessing high levels of confidence when interacting directly with all levels of the organization are imperative.

In performing these roles, the Scrum Master / Agile Project Manager will be expected to leverage their prior knowledge and experience in blending traditional waterfall project management principles and practices with an Agile development methodology in the right proportions to fit within large, complex, enterprise-level programs. They will be expected to employ an appropriate level of planning and provide the right balance of agility and predictability.

• Agile Team Leadership – Servant-Leader who assists in team development while holding teams accountable for their commitments, removing roadblocks to their work; leveraging organizational resources to improve capacity for product and project work; and mentoring and developing team members
• Project Issue/Dependency Identification and Resolution – Working with the product and delivery teams, the Agile Project Manager will help identify and manage project and program issues & dependencies across multiple teams, working to bring the correct decision makers and stakeholders together to develop consensus and solutions for each issue
• Project Planning and Management – Work across multiple product and delivery teams to help integrate product roadmaps, manage product scope and schedules while focusing on regular and timely delivery of value on a continual basis; organize and lead team status and working meetings; prepare and distribute progress reports; identify and manage risks and issues; correct deviations from plans; and perform delivery planning for the team. 
• Process Management and Improvement – Define and manage clearly-defined product and project management processes and champion ongoing process improvement to implement best practices for Agile product development and project management
• Team Building – promote empowerment of the team, ensure that each team member is fully engaged in the program and making a meaningful contribution, and encourage a sustainable pace with high-levels of quality for the team
• Drive the Technical team and the Product Owners in the Agile development process
• Responsible for promoting and enacting Agile values, principles and practices
• Enables close collaboration across all roles and functions
• Promote and participate in the continuous improvement of structure, processes, tooling to enable the teams to deliver more value
• Guards and shields the team from distractions and interruptions from external interferences
• Organize and facilitate standups, release and sprint planning, reviews, demos and retrospectives
• Support efforts to code, design, and testing in a heterogeneous technology environment e.g. JavaScript MVC, HTML, CSS, Java/ J2EE
• Identify opportunities for process and tool improvements and drive those from concept to implementation
• Product Owner Support – Support the Product Owner in managing customer expectations for product deliverables, managing stakeholder communications, and helping to drive an effective system of product and program delivery

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE, SKILLS & ABILITIES 

• Minimum 8 years experience working with agile software development teams consisting of both onsite and offshore resources, Minimum 2 years of experience as a practicing Scrum Master
• Very strong verbal and written communication skills with ability to work in rapidly changing environment
• Strong customer focus, excellent problem solving and analytical skills
• Demonstrate excellent understanding of development concepts and SDLC methodologies
• High-level proficiency in Agile / Scrum development methodologies and tools (Jira)Confluence / Structures for JIRA, Rally, etc.)

• Experience with Loyalty, eCommerce and Omni-Channel delivery programs
• Experience with other Agile/Lean practices such as XP or Kanban
• Prior experience in a developer contributor role
• Participation in Test Driven Development or Business Driven Development
• Practice of Continuous Integration or Continuous Delivery

The ideal candidate will possess the following performance and personal characteristics:

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work up, down and across organizational levels.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence effectively without direct authority, balancing between competing priorities while remaining flexible and creative.
• Strong business acumen, operations and problem-solving skills, along with the ability to assess current practices, identify opportunities for improvement, build consensus and drive the implementation of related changes.
• Excellent executive presence and a track record of success working closely with the C-Suite.

BS or MS degree in Information Systems, Computer Science or related discipline required

PMI PMP Certification strongly preferred, along with Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM) or PMI - Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) credentials