SAFe SPC Certified Agile Coach

Overview

By Light is looking for a talented SAFe SPC Certified Agile Coach to champion the implementation of Agile within a complex federal program. The Agile Coach will be responsible for coaching teams who are new to SAFe, foster an Agile mindset, and stand up/train teams on the appropriate framework that is optimal for delivering value. Goals are to disrupt the way teams work, increase organizational agility for innovation, and establish Agile best practices at the team level that can scale as needed. This role requires a Top-Secret security clearance and will be at the customer site.

Responsibilities

• Champion SAFe approaches, drive awareness of the Agile Transformation, and gain stakeholder buy-in to expand adoption and support SAFe ARTs


• Help establish a Lean Agile Center of Excellence made up of customer Lean-Agile change agents


• Coach teams, ART, and SAFe change agents to assess, measure, document, and communicate progress against defined SAFe transformation goals and assist team in resolving any issues


• Provide coaching to the roles: Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Product Managers, Release Train Engineers, etc. (at program and team level)


• Assist facilitation of SAFe team-level and ART-level events


• Attend Team and ART events to identify opportunities for learning and provide in the moment and sidebar coaching to individuals, teams, and ARTs


• Recommend, develop, track, and monitor SAFe metrics on areas that affect value-driven delivery and indicate potential problems, and assist teams in implementing solutions to remediate those problems


• Have a relentless commitment to implementing SAFe leading practices and coaching teams to consistently deliver business value to key stakeholders

Required Experience/Qualifications

• Experience in scaling Agile teams using a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) implementation


• Experience in establishing SAFe framework at the program level


• Demonstrable understanding of key agile frameworks/tools (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, story-mapping, etc.)


• Proficiency with multiple team collaboration and ideation tools (e.g., Jira)


• Experience working with senior management and leadership team, including Product Managers and Product Owners


• Bachelor’s degree or additional years of hands-on experience


• 5 years of hands-on experience with SAFe practices including establishing Scrum and Kanban frameworks at the team level, training teams on Agile foundations; the Scrum framework to include roles, responsibilities, and events; Kanban/lean practices to include Work In Progress (WIP) limits and “walking the board”; Program/ART-level training/coaching experience with PI Planning preparation and execution, Program Syncs, System Demos, Inspect and Adapt Workshops, etc.


• 2 years of Agile coaching experience


• Excellent communication skills


• Effective facilitation skills, including SAFe team and ART Events


• Effective coaching and mentoring skills


• Effective influence, collaboration, and negotiation skills


• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to identify effective solutions


• At least three years of direct experience in one or more aspects of Information Technology (Hardware and Software design/ development, IT Architecture, or other related IT areas)


• Ability to thrive in a highly ambiguous, fast paced environment where priorities shift rapidly

Preferred Experience/Qualifications

• Ability to authentically establish credibility, build consensus, and activate collaboration with peers and stakeholders


• SAFe for Government certification


• Hands-on JIRA tool experience preferred

Special Requirements/Security Clearance

• Possess or have the ability to obtain an DoD Top Secret (TS/ SCI) clearance with Full Scope Polygraph


• By Light does not require COVID-19 vaccinations or boosters; vaccination requirements and testing are subject to the status of the federal contractor mandate and customer site requirements; testing is at the cost of the employee.