Scrum Master

The Senior Scrum Master (SM III) provides servant leadership and delivery oversight for complex Finance and Actuarial initiatives within the PMO. This role is accountable for enabling high-performing, cross-functional teams while ensuring predictable delivery of business value across Finance & Actuarial modeling, operations, data, and platform initiatives.
The Senior Scrum Master partners with executive stakeholders, Product Owners, and technical leaders to scale Agile practices, remove systemic impediments, and drive continuous improvement across multiple teams or programs.

Key Responsibilities
* Lead and coach multiple Agile teams supporting Finance and Actuarial initiatives, preferably within Life and Annuity product lines
* Serve as the primary Scrum Master and delivery lead for complex, cross-functional programs involving:
o Actuarial modeling and data platforms
o IT actuarial and finance data teams
o Actuarial operations (valuation, governance, projections)
o Finance operations (FP&A, Accounting, Reporting)
* Facilitate Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog refinement, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives
* Partner with Product Owners and business stakeholders to ensure backlogs are well-defined, prioritized, and aligned to strategic outcomes
* Coordinate quarterly and monthly planning sessions; ensure capacity, dependencies, and risks are actively managed
* Develop and present executive-level dashboards and delivery metrics focused on value delivery, predictability, and adoption
* Identify, escalate, and remove complex impediments spanning teams, vendors, or functional boundaries
* Maintain program-level RAID logs, dependency tracking, and change control in alignment with PMO governance standards
* Organize and govern project and backlog artifacts in Azure DevOps (ADO), ensuring consistency across teams
* Apply PMO and Agile tooling (ADO, Smartsheet, Excel, PowerPoint) to deliver transparent, data-driven insights
* Coach teams and stakeholders on Agile, Scrum, and Lean principles; drive continuous improvement and delivery maturity
* Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, balancing Agile delivery with enterprise governance requirements

Required Skills & Experience
* 8+ years of experience in project, program, or Agile delivery roles, including 4+ years as a Scrum Master
* Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
* Deep experience delivering Finance and/or Actuarial programs in financial services organizations
* Proven ability to manage multiple teams and complex delivery dependencies
* Strong experience working with senior and executive stakeholders
* Advanced knowledge of Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) and hybrid delivery models
* Demonstrated success delivering end-to-end initiatives under tight timelines and complex constraints
* Exceptional facilitation, communication, negotiation, and leadership skills
* Expert-level proficiency with ADO, JIRA, Smartsheet, Excel, and PowerPoint

Preferred Skills
* Experience with actuarial and finance platforms such as Prophet, Oracle Cloud EPM, and Snowflake
* Strong understanding of SDLC, platform integration, and data delivery best practices
* PMP certification and/or advanced Agile certifications (CSM, SAFe, RTE)
* Experience operating within enterprise PMOs balancing Agile delivery and governance

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.