Agile Coach

Purpose

7IM is embarking on a transition to Agile ways of working, with the assistance of a specialist third party you will launch the transition and play a critical role in developing, maintaining, and enhancing agile ways of working across the entire Transformation team. You will be responsible for coaching the Scrum Masters and their teams in the way we deliver value to our business. You will drive Agile awareness, mindset, capability and play a key role in ensuring that 7IM develops and maintains a strong product delivery capability to deliver industry-leading software applications. You will have at least 5 years’ of experience as an Agile Coach working in an Agile delivery environment. This role would suit a driven and ambitious individual who has a strong work ethic, delivery mindset, and is enthusiastic about continuous development of the entire team. This is an opportunity to lead the creation and continuous improvement of our agile culture over the next 3+ years.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach individuals in the Transformation Team to embed agile principles, mentality, and behaviours so that we promote the early delivery of business value.
• Develop our framework of methods to support scaled agile planning and delivery to achieve high performance across Transformation; working with teams to ensure strategic intention is aligned to outcomes, improving demand and capacity management, and streamlining governance.
• Act as an SME for ways of working, implementing best practices, providing thought leadership, coaching, and mentoring for squads in agile techniques such as estimation, planning and story mapping.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, setting goals and milestones for our Agile improvement programme, and be accountable for their delivery.
• Work with teams across Transformation to continuously interrogate data and metrics by measuring and improving process and flow, value, as well as agile maturity. Use data in a positive manner to inspire and drive change and behaviours, helping to make 7IM a great place to work.
• Facilitate learning and development through individual coaching, training, and workshops on Agile principles and values within the department.
• Facilitate key Agile ceremonies such as, Programme Increment (PI) planning, sprint planning, daily stand-up’s, reviews, retrospectives, 1:1 and team coaching sessions.
• Help teams identify and address any organisational, product-related, or technical impediments and appropriately facilitate escalation and removal.
• Coach our Product Owners in the skills of backlog management, prioritisation, and importance of balance between business features, technical enablers & debt to ensure teams are correctly focused.
• Enable collaboration across-teams and cross-departments helping identify and improve organisational-level challenges
• If required, provide line management and coaching to future Coaches and train future trainers.
• Adherence to all applicable compliance standards and best practices always
• Acting consistently in accordance with 7IM’s VPVPs
• Conform to 7IM’s Conduct Risk policies
• Other, as reasonably required by your line manager and 7IM.

Qualifications

• Ideally a certified Agile Coach and certified Scrum Master or any other relevant Agile or Coaching qualification including:
  • Certified Enterprise Coach
  • Professional Agile Leadership
  • Agile training course development and delivery
  • Certification in a scaled agile method is an advantage e.g. SAFe, LeSS etc

Skills

• Ability to orchestrate multiple teams and establish governance
• Prior experience of working with Azure DevOps Boards as this is our method of sharing work information
• Experience in redesign operating models such as definition of new roles, new metrics or embedding new ways of working with an organisation.
• Experience supporting an organisation move from project to product, developing and maturing a product-oriented capability
• Experience of establishing new teams and big room planning
• Ability to evaluate where people and teams are in their Agile journey and offer the right approach to support growth. Professional coaching by asking the right questions, providing advice, challenging people in their thinking and guide them to identify their own solutions to problems. Build high performing programs by helping the team embrace agility as a culture shift.
• Effective influencer with experience working with multiple stakeholders across all levels of the business i.e. able to influence the agile mind-set at both an organisational and team level
• Enthusiastic and engaging, to be a source of motivation for individuals and teams and able to lead teams to self-organisation.
• Assertive, can see a problem and act when appropriate, to ensure that Agile principles are adhered to while being pragmatic about practices, making the sophisticated concepts simple.
• Sound experience of using data to make decisions and improve team performance e.g., but not limited to, understanding Flow, Maturity Assessments etc.
• Mentoring and coaching skills & experience, online and F2F (Face-to-Face)
• Extensive experience of working with senior stakeholders and team
• Excellent written and verbal communication at all levels.

• This role will report to the Head of Change.
• Travel to the Edinburgh office will be required relatively regularly.
• Experience of wealth management (including operational knowledge) would be advantageous

Benefits

Here at 7iM we offer a package of competitive benefits including, but not limited to:

• Competitive company matched pension contributions
• Excellent Vitality private health cover (individual, partner and family options)
• Life insurance options, income protection and death in service benefits
• Competitive family friendly benefits
• Hybrid, flexible working with core hours between 10am and 4pm
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (increases with tenure)
• Subsidised gym membership
• Bike2work scheme

The ‘7’ in 7IM refers to the seven original founders of the business. Back in 2002, they couldn’t find a firm they trusted to manage their families’ money properly – big banks seemed impersonal and greedy, while most boutiques lacked the necessary investment process and structure. They started the kind of organisation they’d like to invest with themselves.

Their aim was to deliver steady returns over the long term, while keeping an eye on risk, using the best technology. They wanted everyone to have access to the kind of service and expertise that institutional investors would expect.

We’ve evolved since then. In 2015 Caledonia Investments joined us as a major shareholder. In 2018 we acquired Tcam Asset Management, a firm we felt closely aligned with our investment philosophies and multi-asset approach. In 2020 we continued our long-term growth strategy and acquired the award-winning London based financial planning firm Partners Wealth Management (PWM). PWM will continue to operate as an independent company, retaining its brand, identity, and leadership.

Our team, our clients and our funds under management have grown steadily over the years. From our offices in London and Edinburgh, more than 550 talented people manage over £20 billion for a range of clients, including individuals and families, financial advisers, corporates, charities and trustees.

We still follow our founders’ plan and aim to get the simple things right all wrapped up with real, honest, human service – that’s what sets us apart from everyone else.