Scrum Master/Project Manager

Role/Title: Scrum Master/Project Manager Location: REMOTE

Job Description:
Provide high energy Agile facilitation for 3 5 cross functional development teams delivering financial / payment capabilities across mainframe, distributed, and cloud platforms in a large Government environment. Conduct scrum ceremonies and teach Agile best practice. Make the process engaging, value-focused, and predictable.

Scope: Guide multiple development teams to maintain clear sprint goals, manage cross team dependencies, and continuously improve delivery flow and team engagement.

Core Requirements:
Minimum of eight (8) years relevant experience.
5+ years Scrum Master / Agile facilitation (2+ years with multiple concurrent development teams).
Ability to quickly grasp business and technical requirements, understand or learn technical jargon and government acronyms, produce communication for all levels of the organization.
Proficient with VersionOne / Agility (or comparable tool) for boards, dependencies, impediments, and lightweight rollup reporting.
Proven ability to keep ceremonies purposeful, timeboxed, and engaging (planning, daily, refinement, review, retro).
Demonstrated success by reducing carryover, aging blockers, and decision latency without adding heavy process.
Ability to coach backlog readiness (thin vertical slices, clear acceptance criteria, limited WIP).
Hold teams accountable to sizing activities to ensure project ends dates can be projected.
Manage over and under talkers in ceremonies.
Ability to schedule, track, and manage meetings.

Key Responsibilities:
Facilitate core Agile events and lightweight cross-team syncs; maintain sprint goal clarity.
Make Agile feel useful via energetic, varied, participatory ceremonies (not rote compliance).
Track and drive resolution of impediments (environment, integration, data, approvals) across platforms.
Coordinate cross-team and cross-platform dependencies (batch windows vs deployment timing, integration points).
Maintain visible radiators: sprint goals, impediment log, experiment tracker, simple metrics (goal attainment %, carryover, blocker aging).
Coach Product Owners / BAs and tech leads on prioritization, slicing, and readiness.
Drive 1 2 small improvement experiments per team per sprint; follow through to closure.
Foster psychological safety, inclusive participation, and sustainable pace.

Engagement / Culture:
Uses creative retros (rotating formats) and lightweight recognition of small wins.
Introduces tasteful micro-gamification (e.g., blocker bust streaks) to energize without distracting.
Encourages rotating spokespeople and silent ideation rounds to amplify quieter voices.

Success Indicators:
Sprint goals achieved 80 85% without overtime spikes.
Declining trend in blocker aging and repeat impediments within first 2 3 months.
Story/task carryover trending toward <15%.
70 80% of committed retro experiments implemented on schedule.
Positive team pulse feedback on ceremony usefulness / energy.

Minimum Tool/Process Capability:
VersionOne (boards, simple dashboards, dependency & impediment tracking).
Basic understanding of CI/CD flow.

Preferred (Not Mandatory):
CSM / PSM / A-CSM (higher certifications welcome but not required).
Experience with informal scaling practices (Scrum of Scrums, quarterly alignment).
Comfort with basic flow visuals (cycle time scatter, aging WIP snapshot).

Additional Required Skills/Experience:
o A minimum of eight (8) to twelve (12) years relevant experience.
o A degree from an accredited College/University in the applicable field of services is required. If the individual's degree is not in the applicable field then four additional years of related experience is required.
o Typically performs all functional duties independently.
o Note: Special credentials (licenses and/or certifications) may be required at the Task Order level on a case-specific basis."

Additional Provisions:
Pass both a client mandated clearance process to include drug screening, criminal history check and credit check.
Once candidate s resume is approved and interview passed, the agency is responsible for providing drug screening. Failure to submit the drug screening results will delay the security clearance process.
If a candidate is given an interim clearance, continuation of employment is then based on the candidate receiving a sensitive clearance.
Candidate must have lived in the US for the past 5 years.
Cannot have more than 6 months travel outside the United States within the last five years. Military Service excluded. (Exception does not include military family members.) All overtime must be pre-approved in writing by the client manager or his/her designated representative.
Agency will not be reimbursed for overtime charges without previous written authorization. Authorized overtime will be reimbursed at straight time.
The enforced dress code is business casual, i.e. collared shirt with slacks for men, no skirts above the knee for women. Place and Period of Performance Hours of support:
o The standard work week for contract staff will be 5 days a week and 8 hours per day preferable Monday through Friday.