Job Description
About the roleWe want to be the leading local council in digital innovation. To achieve this, we need the right human to help us move fast and raise the bar for our delivery team.
Working in the Digital team, our purpose is to research, design and build better end-to-end Digital services for our councils and residents. The Scrum Master role has been created due to a high profile and complex website improvement programme. Our aim is to migrate content away from legacy sites while improving the user journey for our two corporate websites. We have a high number of spin-off projects attached to this workstream, and you'll be bringing all this work together and manage/coordinate this interrelated work. You'll build out a clean plan that emphasises collaboration, speed, and efficiency and minimises waste.
People depend on what we deliver so what you do will make a real difference to peoples’ lives. If you are a self-starter with a passion for agile methodologies and a track record of success as a Scrum Master, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity.
What will you be doing?You will be reporting to the Digital Delivery Manager, who will join up the Digital Portfolio of work, and coach and support you and our other Scrum Masters. You'll be working fantastic team of designers, software engineers, business analysts and innovators to add value to local gov services.
Day to day, your job will look like:
- Lead the website delivery team, establishing and implementing quality processes that bring maximum-value public services for the council and its key customers.
- Oversee the successful delivery of digital projects to time, cost and quality, driving the use of both agile and more traditional methods, as appropriate… but champion the value of rapid, high-quality delivery.
- Plan, estimate and manage the allocation of people’s time to prioritised projects and products, adjusting as required to ensure key objectives are met, and feeding into the wider portfolio
- Facilitate daily stand-up meetings, sprint planning, sprint review, and sprint retrospective sessions
- Act as a mentor and coach to team members, helping them to understand and embrace the Scrum framework
- Work with the product owner to ensure that the product backlog is well-maintained and prioritized - and to make sure they have the data and understanding to make the decisions (i.e. shortening the timescales increases technical debt)
- Identify and remove any impediments that may be hindering the team's progress
- Monitor and report on the team's progress, using metrics and other tools to measure and communicate your team's performance
- Collaborate with other Scrum Masters, Project Managers, and agile coaches to ensure that best practices are being followed across the organization
- Be a proactive thinker, do-er and challenger, so that we can do our best work
About youAs a Scrum Master, you will have a strong understanding of agile principles and experience implementing Scrum in a dynamic environment.
You will be a cultural architect and passionate about continuous learning for yourself and your team. You will have an innate drive to increase productivity and visibility, and will be so committed to this cause that you will provide guidance on delivery practices to all areas of the organisation.
As a Scrum Master, you will be a servant leader, able to coach and mentor team members in the framework while also serving as a mediator and problem-solver when conflicts or roadblocks arise.
You will be familiar with Agile metrics and delivery benchmarking to ensure that we have the correct data to make informed decisions. Finally, you will have excellent political and strategic insight to understand the needs of key stakeholders and the complexity of several moving parts.
You will need:
- Natural openness, curiosity and optimism (a bit of bravery probably wouldn’t hurt either)
- Excellent command of the agile manifesto, SCRUM framework, and experience of delivering both agile and waterfall projects successfully
- Strong understanding of agile principles and experience implementing Scrum in a software development environment
- Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills: able to inspire, motivate and build trust with a technical and non-technical audience
- Some data geekery, with a view to making decent decisions (not finger-in-the-air fluff)
- Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs
- A responsive and adaptable attitude
- A passion for making a positive impact for individuals and services
You'll get extra points for:
- Knowledge or coaching experience of the Product Owner role
- Experience in software testing
- A background in service design or software engineering
- Knowledge of project reporting at a high-level in a more traditional Waterfall PMO.
- An understanding of a traditional IT environment, as we are transitioning from a place of legacy systems and processes to a brave new world
- A demonstrable understanding of the public sector digital and technology agenda
- A well-rounded view of what good looks like in the world of public sector digital
About usWest Northants Council’s Digital, Technology and Innovation service is revolutionising local authority IT. Our strategy is visionary and ground-breaking; our aim is to be the most innovative local authority in the country.
We need smart people. Armed, prepared and ready-to-go game-changers, visionaries, and challengers, people who want to go at 1000 miles an hour - we’d rather run fast and break things, than walk slowly and never change anything. You’ll work with like-minded, smart people; you’ll take old ways of doing things and challenge them. We’re big on removing barriers and busting constraints, so you’ll have what you need to help us transform this into a forward-thinking, the digital local authority that delivers public services in a progressive way.
At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.
Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
For more information, or an informal chat about the role, please contact [email protected], Digital Delivery Manager.
Our benefitsWe offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:
- A team who will listen to, and appreciate, your ideas, and help make them happen
- The opportunity to make a difference to peoples’ lives in an innovative and ambitious team
- Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days annual leave per year, 28 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
- Flexible working (work how you want/where you want, just be here for important meetings)
- Encouragement to be the best “you”, you can be
- Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
- Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Car Lease scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
- Ongoing training and development opportunities.
- A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including different hours, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
- Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
- Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.
The council is in the process of implementing a new pay structure and terms and conditions which will be applicable to this role. The outcome could result in a future variation to the advertised salary, and this will be discussed at interview.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Salary: £47,151.00 per year
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