Scrum Master / Agile Coach

Overview

Specialist role Agile coach

Summary of the work 

DVLA requires a Scrum Master/Agile Coach to support the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Reform Project with the delivery of a series of high-profile changes aimed at meeting the commitments outlined in the Summer '15 budget and facilitating a strategic shift away from legacy technologies.

Latest start date 19/09/2016

Expected contract length 4 months / 20 weeks (from 19th September 2016 to 3rd February 2017)

Region Wales

Organisation the work is for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

About the work

Who the specialist will work with 

The successful candidate will be working within a product-centric environment utilising agile, and iterative development practices. There are currently 3 scrum teams (Business; Transform and MVP) supported by the following roles; 

• Product Owner/Business SMEs 
• Scrum Master 
• Business Analysts 
• Interaction Designers 
• Developers 
• Testers 
• Domain/Solution Architects 
• User researchers 

The Transform and MVP Workstreams both have blended Development / Dev Ops Teams. The Business Workstream is made up of various Subject Matter Experts from relevant Business Areas throughout the DVLA.

What the specialist will work on 

The VED Reform Project is looking for a highly experienced Scrum Master / Agile Coach who will ensure: 

• the Agile Delivery Team adheres to the software engineering process whilst facilitating the removal blockers. 
• The Scrum Master / Agile Coach must have experience in scaling Agile across multiple workstreams, and have the ability to motivate and enhance the existing teams, whilst having experience of maintaining a cross Project view of risks and dependencies. 
• The Scrum Master / Agile coach will be required to guide, mentor and optimise the Agile teams and support the definition and structuring of future transformation initiatives.

Work setup

Address where the work will take place DVLA, Morriston, Swansea, SA6 7JL

Working arrangements Onsite 5 days a week. 8 hours per day exclusive of lunch and travel. T&S charges only apply for staff that commutes over a 75 mile journey in each direction. This is based on the distance that would be reasonable to expect a person to commute to the principal location(s). T&S is only applicable at the following maximum rates (excluding VAT): i. For T&S including travel but no overnight stay: Suppliers plain day rate plus £45.00. ii. For T&S including overnight stay: Suppliers plain day rate plus £90.00.

Security clearance Individual must be SC Cleared

Skills and experience

Essential skills and experience 

• SC Clearance is a minimum requirement
• Must have experience of multiple projects, delivering products and services in line with Government Digital Services (GDS) Digital by Default Service Standards and methods
• Substantial experience delivering software with Agile methods
• Experience using various techniques to focus plans and roadmaps on Business value
• Will be from a technical background, being able to work closely with the technical team members to plan an appropriate approach
• Must have experience in Government programmes, aligning multiple teams of differing agile maturity levels
• Must have experience of working on Legacy transition projects / programmes
• Must be available to be on site 5 days a week
• Must be able to quickly embed and gather trust within the established teams to enable rapid improvements and an increased pace of delivery
• Must have experience of scaling agile across multiple teams and locations, with dependencies on other programmes and external suppliers
• Will have excellent experience of Coaching multiple teams in Agile ways of working
• Good understanding of software development practices and agile software testing techniques (such as TDD, BDD, CI)
• Certified Scrum Master or similar qualification
• Experience in JIRA Agile tools for backlog tracking, burn-up/burn-down metrics, velocity etc.

Nice-to-have skills and experience 

• Experience working with sensitive data, ideally within Government
• Knowledge of lean and XP techniques in relation to software development
• Active involvement in Agile communities
• Ideally worked with distributed teams
• Has seen the transition from traditional Waterfall to Agile working, understanding both cultures

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.