Scrum Master

Ascend Learning is a national leader in data driven, online educational solutions for learners, educators and employers in high-growth, licensure-driven professions spanning healthcare, fitness and wellness, skilled trades, insurance and financial services. We are passionate about accelerating learning while impacting job readiness, employment success and employee retention with the belief that our work changes lives.

Our culture is intentionally results-driven and selfless with a relentless focus on our customers. We believe in trust, transparency, freedom and responsibility with a commitment to meritocracy, inclusion and diversity of thought. Continual investment in our over 1500 employees is also a core principle realized through ongoing professional development and providing opportunities to grow, develop and lead. Ascend Learning is headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and remote workers in cities across the U.S.

The Scrum Master at Ascend reports into the Tech & Ops organization, specifically the Agile Center of Excellence within the PMO. The position is responsible for Scrum Master activities on one or more Agile Teams that are part of one or more Agile Release Trains.

The Scrum Master is a servant leader focused on transparency, inspection, and adaption. The Scrum Master has an appetite for relentless improvement and is a champion of Agile/Lean practices that achieve delivery flow. The Scrum Master works to establish a trusting and safe team environment where problems can be addressed without blame or judgment, with a focus on problem solving and a "learn by doing" environment.

Leawood, Kansas office/hybrid and Gilbert, Arizona/hybrid office location preferred. Other Ascend Learning office locations or remote considered.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Agile team to achieve its goals
• Coach/train teams on Agile/Lean tools, techniques, and knowledge
• Manage impediments and barriers outside of the Agile Team's control
• Uses data/metrics to evaluate team performance and drive continuous improvement
• Provide day-to-day coordination, support, and coaching to the team to encourage adoption of agile practices
• Champion support of evolving processes with focus on relentless improvement
• Foster transparency and alignment through management of Agile Team information radiators
• Facilitate Agile Team ceremonies that support team delivery flow, e.g. planning, retrospectives, demos, etc.
• Facilitate Agile Team preparation and readiness for ART events
• Support the Product Owner in their role managing the backlog
• Participate in ART ceremonies that support Program delivery flow, e.g. ART sync, Scrum of Scrums, inspect and adapt, etc.
• Support the Agile team's efforts to continuously improve collaboration and relationships with other teams.
• Help coordinate inter-team cooperation and communication for all team members (may be geographically distributed)
• Build trust, and work collaboratively with all levels and areas of the organization
• Work with the extended Scrum Master community, including Release Train Engineers, to increase the effectiveness of SAFe across the enterprise
• Provide support for Agile Team/ART forecasting, estimating, and capacity planning
• Support DevOps practices, continuous deployment pipeline and release activities.

Education & Experience

• Minimum of one year experience as a Scrum Master on one or more Agile teams preferred. Experience in related Agile team roles required.
• Experience with teams using Lean/Agile practices, e.g. Scrum, Kanban, ScrumXP, etc.
• Preferred knowledge of concepts and practices for Scaling Agile (SAFe)
• Preferred experience with Jira and Jira Align
• Preferred Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or equivalent certification
• Preferred SAFe Agilest, or other SAFe/Agile/Lean certifications
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Project Management, Information Systems or related field; or equivalent experience

Skills & Abilities

• Coaching, facilitation, and training skills
• Ability to manage timeboxes and facilitate productive events
• Ability to influence others, and to maintain persistence in the face of obstacles
• Understanding of SAFe and Agile principles and practices at a team and program level.
• Critical thinking skills with the ability to guide people and groups through problem solving
• Ability to recognize when team is making decisions that impact overall release train direction and escalate as appropriate.
• Effective communicator, both verbally and in writing, to many levels and areas of the company
• Ability to build relationships and influence in a matrixed organization
• Ability to lead teams, gain trust, and create an emphasis on continuous improvement

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

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