Agile Coach - Heavy Jira experience

Location: Richmond, VA (Hybrid)
Job Type: Contract
Duration: Three months with possible extension

Overview

We are seeking an experienced JIRA Administrator & Agile Coach to support enterprise technology teams by modernizing, standardizing, and optimizing JIRA while coaching Agile teams to improve delivery, collaboration, and continuous improvement. This role combines hands-on JIRA administration with Agile coaching and will play a key role in driving governance, consistency, and Agile maturity across the organization.

The ideal candidate is an expert in JIRA administration with experience coaching Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe teams and partnering with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and technology leaders to improve team effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Assess the current JIRA environment and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Standardize and optimize JIRA projects, boards, workflows, dashboards, and permissions.
• Establish governance, best practices, and enterprise standards for JIRA administration.
• Coach Agile teams on Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe methodologies.
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives.
• Partner with Product Owners to refine backlogs, prioritize work, and improve user story quality.
• Monitor sprint progress using JIRA and Azure DevOps while ensuring work items remain current.
• Identify and remove delivery impediments while proactively managing project risks.
• Coordinate cross-team dependencies and improve communication across stakeholders.
• Track Agile performance metrics including velocity, sprint predictability, and team capacity.
• Create Product Status Reports aligned with PMO standards.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and Agile excellence.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of JIRA Administration experience in an enterprise environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of Agile Coaching experience supporting multiple teams.
• Experience designing and implementing JIRA governance, standards, and best practices.
• Strong understanding of Agile frameworks including Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe.
• Experience facilitating Agile ceremonies and coaching Product Owners and development teams.
• Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience supporting Agile transformation initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Azure DevOps.
• Atlassian JIRA Administration certification.
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), SAFe Agilist (SA), SAFe Program Consultant (SPC), or similar Agile certification.
• Experience within financial services, banking, or other regulated industries.
• Experience creating Agile dashboards and reporting using JIRA.

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate is a collaborative leader who combines deep technical knowledge of JIRA with strong Agile coaching skills. They are passionate about improving team performance, establishing governance, and driving successful Agile adoption across enterprise technology organizations.

Compensation 
$75-$80 per hour W-2
This is the targeted compensation range for this role. Please note that this range is 
provided as a guideline and the final offer will be based on several factors, including but 
not limited to, skillset and competencies, level of experience, education, certifications, and 
location.

Benefits 
We offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life, and 
disability insurance; 401(k).

Work Authorization 
Work sponsorship is not available for this position. Applicants must be authorized to work 
in the United States without sponsorship.

Equal Employment Opportunity 
We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, 
religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual 
orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, 
state, or local law.