Senior Scrum Master (8-month FTC)

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Are you ready to take your Scrum Master expertise to the next level? As a Senior Scrum Master, you'll play a pivotal role in coaching and mentoring teams to deliver high-value, customer-oriented work. Your influence extends beyond your own team, as you provide agile coaching and support to others.

You'll report into our Director of Data and support a range of stakeholders across our Technology Division, guiding them through transformation and growth here at Penguin Random House UK.

About Technology

Following the successful completion of our recent technology, data and process merger, our Technology division is charging ahead with our strategic plan to amplify the voices of our organisation. This includes leveraging the potential of Cloud solutions, continuously enhancing our security measures, revitalising legacy applications, and enhancing our interactions with strategic partners and suppliers. Our Technology Division spans across two vibrant office locations in London and Colchester, where approximately 200 colleagues are dedicated to empowering our mission - we make books for everyone, because a book can change anyone.

At the heart of this mission is our pivotal Data team, and with your expertise, we can elevate our agile maturity to unprecedented levels.

The role:

• Organise and facilitate key Scrum events within the Data Centre of Excellence, such as Sprint Planning and Daily Stand-ups, to drive team productivity and progress.
• Identify and eliminate obstacles hindering team progress, including resolving conflicts and providing necessary resources.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts by facilitating retrospectives and implementing changes to enhance productivity and product quality.
• Facilitate effective communication within the team and with stakeholders, promoting collaboration and feedback exchange.
• Lead Scrum Team events for strategic data projects and empower new teams to make decisions and increase delivery.
• Stay informed on industry developments in Agile working practices and tools.
• Coach and influence our Technology teams and senior stakeholders on the value of Agile practices and formats.
• Own scaling events within Technology and define metrics and reporting for Agile teams, providing transparency and actionable results for continual improvement.

What you'll bring:

• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and coaching skills focused on empowering teams to excel.
• Proficiency in refinement, story splitting, estimation, velocity, and other Scrum techniques, driving efficient team performance.
• Strong influencing skills to persuade and engage senior leadership, driving alignment and support for Agile practices.
• Dynamic presenting skills to engage and inspire teams and stakeholders.
• Proven experience in leading and developing teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and success.
• Confidence to disrupt the status quo, fostering a culture of ownership and innovation within the Data team.
• Empathetic and active listening skills, building strong relationships and understanding the needs of the Data team.

Our approach to hybrid working:

While our offices are places for you to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, having flexibility about where you work is just as important for doing your best work and for your wellbeing. So, we don't have a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how we work in different teams across Penguin Random House UK.

This is a hybrid role, with activities and meetings based at our office in London located near Vauxhall, that you will need to support in-person. We are happy to discuss hybrid working arrangements with you during your recruitment process.

About Penguin:

We're the UK's largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you'll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone.

Application deadline: Please apply with your CV and cover letter by Sunday 30th June.

What you can expect from us:

Salary: Circa £65,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition. Our benefits include:

• Financial - income protection, life assurance, childcare allowance
• Wellbeing - healthcare cash plan, critical illness cover, health checks
• Lifestyle - enhanced parental leave, tech scheme, free and discounted books

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/

You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we're part of the offer an interview scheme. This is where disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role can opt in to get to the next recruitment stage. There may be some situations where volume of applicants means we can't take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request.

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.

Company: Penguin Books Limited

Country: United Kingdom

State/Region: London

City: London

Postal Code: SW11 7BW

Job ID: 271613

Date: 19 Jun 2024

Location: