Lead Agilist

Job Title: Lead Agilist

Location: Cincinnati, OH (onsite)

Duration: Long term Contract

Job Description:

• We are looking for an experienced Lead Agilist to drive Agile excellence within cross-functional teams in a dynamic FinTech environment.
• This role focuses on coaching Agile squads, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and ensuring effective adoption of Scrum and Agile principles.
• The ideal candidate will be a servant leader, capable of mentoring teams, removing impediments, and enabling high performance while aligning delivery with business value and organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Coach and guide Agile squads on Scrum principles, Agile values, and best practices
• Facilitate key Scrum ceremonies including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives, and Backlog Refinement
• Promote self-organization, accountability, and continuous improvement within teams
• Act as a servant leader, fostering a collaborative and psychologically safe team environment
• Partner with Product Owners and Development Teams to ensure effective backlog management and value delivery
• Identify, manage, and help resolve team impediments and organizational blockers
• Use data, metrics, and feedback loops to drive team performance and process improvements
• Support adoption of DevOps, CI/CD, and modern engineering practices
• Facilitate communication and collaboration across teams, stakeholders, and leadership
• Mentor and coach individuals and teams across the organization on Agile practices
• Ensure alignment with organizational governance, risk management, and compliance standards

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of overall professional experience
• Minimum 3+ years of Scrum Master / Agile coaching experience
• Strong understanding of Scrum framework and Agile methodologies
• Proven ability to build and guide high-performing Agile teams
• Experience in facilitation, mentoring, and coaching at multiple organizational levels
• Strong problem-solving and conflict resolution skills
• Experience in removing team and organizational impediments
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Experience with Agile tools such as VersionOne (or similar tools)

Mandatory Skills

• Scrum
• Scrum Coaching
• SAFe Agilist
• Agile SAFe
• Project Management
• VersionOne

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) implementations
• Knowledge of Kanban, Scrumban, XP, and other Agile methodologies
• Familiarity with DevOps practices (CI/CD, TDD, automation)
• Strong understanding of team dynamics, emotional intelligence, and coaching techniques
• Ability to leverage empirical data and metrics for continuous improvement

Key Competencies

• Servant Leadership
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Stakeholder Management
• Conflict Resolution & Mediation
• Continuous Improvement Mindset
• Strong Facilitation Skills
• Team Building & Collaboration