Agile Delivery Manager / Scrum Master

Job title

Platform Team Delivery Manager

Location

Kings Hill, West Malling

Department

Delivery Team

Who are RDT?

RDT is a focused and successful agile software company. It has been working in the UK insurance market for over 30 years and in this time has been delivering highly innovative software and consulting solutions. RDT prides itself on being a disruptive force in the insurance market and has been at the forefront of many pivotal technology innovations. This is still true today, as we continue to build industry changing products in our singular quest to ReDefine Tomorrow. As part of RDT’s ongoing commitment to hiring the best people for every vacancy we have, we recognise that sometimes we need to be flexible and consider the particular needs of each applicant. If you think your skills and experience might match this role but need to work in a particular way; different hours or more flexibly – don’t not apply, give us a chance to see if we can match what you need before you count us out of your job search.

The Platform Team Delivery Manager Role at RDT

The Platform Team Delivery Manager is responsible for ensuring that their delivery teams are effective and efficient in the day-to-day delivery of services to other internal RDT teams. They are the team facilitator - the person responsible for the mechanics of delivery: driving quality and continuous process improvement, increasing delivery speed and reducing costs, whilst at the same time building happy, empowered and passionate teams.

Reporting to the Delivery Director you will be responsible for the day-to-day delivery of three core delivery teams – Platform, Data and Architecture – managing a mix of planned and emergent work, including the work of outsourced Platform team resource. Our entire delivery process is built around the expert use of Agile delivery techniques and you will be at the heart of this delivery process. As part of the Delivery Team, alongside other Delivery Managers and Project Managers, you will also be expected to participate fully in the continuous improvement of the Delivery function overall.

What you’ll be doing

You will have the following responsibilities:

• Determining and applying the ideal agile delivery methodology to suit the nature of the teams’ backlogs and the environment in which the teams operates (particularly ensuring the appropriate balance between emergent and planned work), keeping the approach under review as needs change.

• Monitoring the teams’ Kanban boards, ensuring high visibility of the work and that the highest priority tasks are being worked on, and limiting work in progress to maintain focus and reduce waste. • Running Daily Stand Ups and when applicable facilitating team planning sessions. • Coaching and mentoring the teams on their understanding and application of lean and agile values, principles and techniques. You will be an active catalyst for improvement, and strive to instil a mindset of empowerment and self-organisation within the team. • Acting as the teams’ gatekeeper – managing requests for assistance, prioritising them against ongoing activities, and creating an environment where the team can focus on their goals. • Working with the teams to capture, prioritise and resolve impediments to their ability to deliver, with a “continuous improvement” attitude. Where impediments are external to the team, you will actively work with external stakeholders in pursuit of their resolution, and to keep affected teams informed. • Providing regular reports on team performance metrics, translating metrics into actionable knowledge. • Working with the Project Management Office (PMO) on the collation of team delivery metrics, on reviews of team processes and on the implementation of team process improvements. • Ensuring that actual effort is faithfully and appropriately recorded for all team activity, actively monitoring it and working to drive down delivery costs through the implementation of efficiency improvements. You will collaborate with: • The Solutions Director, who will drive priorities for the day to day operation of the teams.

• The members of one or more RDT product and delivery teams, consisting of Software Engineers, QA Engineers, Business Analysts, IT Support Engineers and Service Desk personnel.

• The Release and Client Services Teams, to support the release and implementation of software to clients

• Outsourced Platform Engineer resources, via their Service Delivery Manager

• Other Delivery Managers and Project Managers in the Delivery Team, the Project Management Office and the Delivery Director

What we need from you

Qualifications & Experience:

• A Degree, similar level qualification or qualified by experience.

• Solid and proven experience of leading teams using Agile, Scrum, Kanban or other lean software delivery practices, ideally working in a Scrum Master, Kanban Service Delivery Manager or similar role.

• Experience balancing team workloads that have both support and delivery priorities

• Agile certification e.g. CSM, PMI-ACP etc.

• Exposure to Platform engineering and DevOps concepts and practice

• Solid experience and knowledge of all aspects the Software Development Lifecycle • Strong appreciation of SDLC management tools, ideally the MS stack (and particularly Azure DevOps Boards)

• Insurance software delivery experience will be an advantage, but is not essential.

Essential Skills:

• Excellent communication and people skills and high levels of professionalism in varied situations, working calmly under pressure

• Outstanding facilitation, negotiation and coaching skills

• A team player but committed to maximising team output and escalating any team performance issues as appropriate

• A strong commitment to the promotion of agile values and practices and a mindset of continuous improvement

• The ability to self-motivate and take ownership

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft based technologies: Azure DevOps/TFS, Office, VISIO, SharePoint

• Insurance industry knowledge would be advantageous, but is not essential.

What’s in it for you?

You will have the opportunity to help shape the direction and approach to Delivery within RDT. You will work with a strong team delivering high quality software products in a fast paced environment. You will be working with sharp and innovative people who are dedicated, driven and more than happy to share their knowledge with you. You will be expected to be the best you can be and will be encouraged and supported to achieve this.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: Up to £75,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking
• Life insurance
• On-site parking
• Private medical insurance
• Referral programme
• Store discount

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Kent, ME19 4UY: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Application question(s):

• Will you be requiring sponsorship, now or in the future, to take on a permanent role in the UK?

Experience:

• Delivery Management: 5 years (required)

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: JD/ADM/SM