Agile Coach

As a Senior Agile Coach and Transformation Consultant, you will serve as an internal consultant and change agent, facilitating the adoption and enhancement of Agile principles, tools, values, and practices across multiple product development teams. You will be instrumental in driving continuous improvement through coaching, training, and helping to remove obstacles, ensuring the organization’s successful transition to Agile methodologies.

Key Responsibilities:

• Agile Training and Coaching:
• Train teams on Agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean development practices.
• Coach teams through Agile ceremonies, optimizing workflows, and providing feedback.
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies, including daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and sprint planning sessions.
• Mentor and advise Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and other stakeholders on Agile best practices.

Organizational Change Facilitation:

• Lead the transition of product teams to self-organization and cross-functional collaboration.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, tools, and communication across teams.
• Facilitate organizational change towards agility by training managers, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and other key stakeholders.
• Scale Agile frameworks across large, complex programs involving multiple teams.

Continuous Improvement and Metrics:

• Measure key Agile adoption and productivity metrics across product development teams.
• Conduct regular sessions with teams to review metrics, identify areas for improvement, and recommend optimization strategies.
• Troubleshoot impediments related to processes, tools, prioritization, and other blockers.
• Research and share Agile best practices from across the industry to keep teams up-to-date.

Cultural and Behavioral Development:

• Foster an Agile culture of continuous learning, feedback, and improvement.
• Facilitate and observe specific rituals such as Roadmap creation, Value-based prioritization, and Risk workshops.
• Challenge teams to ensure understanding of good practices and the necessity of continuous improvement.
• Act as the senior Agile advisor and thought leader within the organization.

Agile Transformation:

• Develop and implement customized Agile transformations based on organizational needs.
• Lead workshops and train-the-trainer sessions to develop internal Agile coaches.

Required Skills and Experience:

Agile Coaching Experience:

• 3+ years of experience in a Scrum role (Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Product Owner, Product Manager).
• Proven experience in coaching and mentoring Agile teams and driving organizational change.
• Agile Knowledge:
• In-depth knowledge of Agile practices, including Scrum, Kanban, and Lean.
• Expertise in Agile project management methods and associated tools (e.g., Visual management, Agile KPIs, Jira, Confluence).
• Strong understanding of Product Management techniques (Product Vision, Story Mapping, Product Backlog).
• Communication and Leadership:
• Business-level proficiency in both English and Japanese.
• Ability to train, influence, and collaborate with diverse groups including technical experts, product managers, and department heads.
• Skilled in writing effective user stories following the INVEST criteria.
• Results and metrics-driven with a passion for continuous improvement.
• Certifications and Advanced Knowledge:
• Advanced Agile certifications (e.g., Certified Scrum Professional, SAFe Program Consultant).
• Expertise in multiple Agile frameworks like SAFe, LeSS, and the Spotify model.
• Experience mentoring and developing other Agile coaches/consultants Adaptability and Problem-Solving:
• Ability to adapt Agile practices depending on the audience and context.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive approach to removing blockers and obstacles.