Senior Agile Coach

Wood Mackenzie is the global leader in data, analysis and consulting across the energy, chemicals, metals, mining, power and renewables sectors.

Founded in 1973, our success has always been underpinned by the simple principle of providing trusted research and advice that makes a difference to our customers. Today we have over 2,000 customers ranging from the largest global energy companies and financial institutions to governments as well as smaller market specialists.

Our teams are located around the world. This enables us to stay closely connected with customers and the markets and sectors we cover. Collectively this allows us to offer a compelling combination of global commodity analysis with detailed local market knowledge.

We are committed to supporting our people to grow and thrive. We value different perspectives and aspire to create an inclusive environment that encourages diversity and fosters a sense of belonging. We are committed to creating a workplace that works for you and encourage everyone to get involved in our Wellness, Diversity and Inclusion, and Community Engagement initiatives. We actively support flexible working and are happy to consider alternative work patterns, taking into account your needs and the needs of the team or division that you are looking to join.

Hear what our team has to say about working with us:

https://www.woodmac.com/careers/our-people/

We are proud to be a part of the Verisk family of companies!

At the heart of what we do is help clients manage risk. Verisk (Nasdaq: VRSK) provides data and insights to our customers in insurance, energy and the financial services markets so they can make faster and more informed decisions.

Our global team uses AI, machine learning, automation, and other emerging technologies to collect and analyze billions of records. We provide advanced decision-support to prevent credit, lending, and cyber risks. In addition, we monitor and advise companies on complex global matters such as climate change, catastrophes, and geopolitical issues.

But why we do our work is what sets us apart. It stems from a commitment to making the world better, safer and stronger.

It’s the reason Verisk is part of the UN Global Compact sustainability initiative. It’s why we made a commitment to balancing 100 percent of our carbon emissions. It’s the aim of our “returnship” program for experienced professionals rejoining the workforce after time away. And, it’s what drives our annual Innovation Day, where we identify our next first-to-market innovations to solve our customers’ problems.

At its core, Verisk uses data to minimize risk and maximize value. But far bigger, is why we do what we do.

At Verisk you can build an exciting career with meaningful work; create positive and lasting impact on business; and find the support, coaching, and training you need to advance your career. We’ve been recognized by Forbes as a World’s Best Employer and a Best Employer for Women, testaments to our culture of engagement and the value we place on an inclusive and diverse workforce.

Role Purpose

We are recruiting for an Agile Coach / Release Train Engineer to join the team the UK. As a SAFe® Agilist / Release Train Engineer (RTE) you will assume an Agile Release Train (ART) leadership role to drive towards highly collaborative, cross-functional teams within our Lens® program using Agile Scrum and Scaled Agile ceremonies and practices.

As the company adopts the Scaled Agile Framework, in order to become more efficient optimising work and providing the best digital products and services for our customers, the Release Train Engineer (RTE) plays a critical role leading and driving program success, fostering continuous improvement, along with acting as a binding agent that connects a “team of teams”.

You will drive the teams through execution of Lean Agile methodologies and practices, planning on cadence, delivering ‘thin slices’, managing impediments and risks to overall delivery, and coaching teams and individuals through their journey on the agile maturity journey. You will leverage the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) and its underlying principles. As a SAFe® Agilist you will also have the skills for supporting and executing Program Increment Planning events and coordinating across multiple Agile Release Trains (ARTs).

About the Day to Day Responsibilities of the Role

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead ART ceremonies and events, such as the ART Scrum of Scrums, Quarterly (PI) Planning, and Inspect & Adapt (I&A) workshops.
• Work with the Agile Program Management Office (APMO) on program execution, status reporting on key initiatives and operational excellence
• Foresee and call out risks/issues on schedule, resource capacity, and scope from product teams.
• Work with Product Strategy, Product Management & Engineering to understand and communicate business priorities clearly to cross-functional delivery teams.
• Coordinate team dependencies within the same release train and external dependencies from other trains and teams.
• Remove blockers called out from Scrum of Scrums and ART sync.
• Schedule features and system demos across teams with business for key capabilities.
• Consistently track and monitor product teams progress after PI planning and provide guidance/support.
• Facilitate and schedule workshops with business, Engineering Managers, Architects, and Solution Owners for solutioning and/or requirements clarifications as needed.
• Coach and conduct training to Product Managers, Product Owners, Solution Owners, Tech Leads, DevOps, Enterprise/Solution & System Architects, on Scaled Agile methodology to support the ART in delivering on the Quarterly Objectives.
• Track and publish Quarterly Objectives/Team progress for visibility and transparency to stakeholders and business partners.
• Assist with decision-making by facilitating feature and capability estimation by teams and the roll-up to epics, where necessary.
• Prepare, guide and assess readiness of Program Increment (PI) Planning and demos.
• Drive relentless improvement via Inspect & Adapt workshops, assess the agility level of the ART and Solution Train and help them improve velocity and accountability.
• Work with the broader group of Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters to foster an Agile Community of Practice

The person that fills this role must be a self-starter who is energized by a challenge, passionate about bringing great products to market and love the thrill of creating a new standard for what’s possible.

Skillset

• Expert-level experience working directly with Agile teams on projects as an Agile Coach and/or RTE in a digital product development environment
• SAFe certifications and experience of implementing SAFe essential
• Experience working with and mentoring teams in use of Agile practices
• Ability to understand complex issues quickly to identify value streams and slices
• Ability to transparently explain and communicate delivery problems and issues, impact and remedial plan to senior leadership.
• Strong tactical, strategic thinking, problem solving skills
• Able to achieve big picture objectives while paying attention to details
• Outstanding written and verbal communications skills
• Experience managing projects and programs across multiple geographical regions
• Demonstrated ability to connect and influence others to achieve team goals
• Ability to coach, lead and motivate diverse project teams and juggle multiple tasks
• Experience with Agile ALM tools such as JIRA.

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Verisk Analytics is an equal opportunity employer.

All members of the Verisk Analytics family of companies are equal opportunity employers. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, veteran’s status, age or disability.

http://www.verisk.com/careers.html

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