Vacant Post – Senior Scrum Master (Internal Position)

Website ska_africa NRF/SARAO
Contract type: Permanent
Job Level: Skilled / Middle Management
Work Location: Cape Town, Western Cape
Closing Date: 27 January 2025
The National Research Foundation (NRF) supports and promotes research and human capital development through funding, the provision of National Research Facilities and science outreach platforms and programmes to the broader community in all fields of science and technology, including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities.
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) spearheads South Africa’s activities in the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope, commonly known as the SKA, in engineering, science and construction. SARAO is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation and incorporates radio astronomy instruments and programmes such as the MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng, the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (AVN) programme in nine African countries as well as the associated human capital development and commercialisation endeavours.
The Senior Scrum Master is responsible for multiple and or large agile teams for different projects MeerKAT, MeerKAT Extension, African VLBI Network (AVN), the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and Research and Development projects. They positively influence, mentor and address complex, systemic issues within the agile teams.
Key Responsibilities:
* Advanced Facilitate and lead meetings, including planning, progress review, retrospectives and problem solving workshops, leading larger or multiple teams and ensure alignment across teams
* Provides coaching not just to the team but to other Scrum Masters, managers, and the organization, helping to align practices with
organizational goals.
* Identifies and implements process improvements on a larger scale and helps drive organizational change.
* Focus on ever-improving team dynamics and performance, helping the team manage interpersonal conflicts, challenges and opportunities for growth.
* Facilitate and lead meetings, including planning, progress, review, retrospectives and problem solving workshops.
* Research and propose other methods or approaches, with the purpose of utilizing the suggested invention within the organization.
* Assist in determining milestones and roadmaps, and the plans that enable them.
* Assist in determining sprint objectives and acceptance criteria.
* Participate in innovation and technology development initiatives.
* Track and report on the implementation of features and capabilities.
* Escalate, track and eliminate impediments.
* Manage risks and dependencies.
* Mentor and educate mid and junior as and when required
* Help to motivate team members with a focus on continuous improvement.
* Assist in documentation, social activities and other admin
* Coordinate inter-team cooperation.
* Collaborate with departmental stakeholders to support engineering, commissioning, operations and science activities.
* Participate in project Management and systems engineering activities.
Key Requirements:
Qualification:
* ND (Comp Sci or related field) with 13+ years; OR
* B.Tech/ B.Sc (Comp Sci or related field) with 10+ years; OR
* B.Eng / B.Sc Hons (Comp Sci or related field) with 9+ years; OR
* M.Eng / M.Sc (Comp Sci or related field) with 7+ years; OR
* PhD / D.Eng with 5+ years
* AND
* Scrum Master Certified
Experience:
* Advanced Agile Knowledge and expertise in scrum and other agile methodologies, often including experience with scaling frameworks like SAFe
* Awareness and experience with Agile techniques: User stories, test driven development, continuous delivery, and pair programming
* Excellent skills and knowledge of servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency
* Experienced in enabling teams to self-organise, self-manage and deliver.
* Experienced in mentoring or coaching other Scrum Masters, and leading multiple agile teams or projects
* Experience in implementation of project management and system engineering principles.
* Experience with test-driven development and integration testing techniques, methodologies and frameworks; and supporting
systems like revision control.
Knowledge:
* Google Drive, JIRA, Miro, Jenkins, Gitlab, Github etc.Facilitation,
* Stakeholder Management, understanding and managing team dynamics, fostering collaboration.
* Situational awareness,
* Continual improvement,
* Empowerment, and
* Increasing transparency
Additional Notes:
* Teamwork and Collaboration: Cooperates with others to achieve organisational objectives and may share team resources in order to do this.
* Track and report on the implementation of features and capabilities
* Protect teams from distractions and unrelated \ unnecessary work
* Ability to reliably estimate and plan work as part of a team.
* Is versatile and enjoys a fast-paced environment
* Communication and Facilitation
* Agile approaches to systems development
* Strategic thinking and influence
* Initiative and continually brings fresh ideas to the table
Information:
The website www.nrf.ac.za provides more details on the NRF initiatives and activities.
Applications:
Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by logging to https://ess.nrf.ac.za/Account/Recruitment and apply online. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of motivation indicating the applicant’s suitability for the position. The names and contact details of at least three referees should be provided.
Closing Date: 27 January 2025
The NRF offers a challenging career and competitive remuneration package which is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
The NRF is committed to employment equity and redress and the appointment to the position will be made in line with the NRF Employment Equity Plan.
The NRF reserves the right not to make an appointment.
Correspondence will be sent to short-listed candidates only