Agile Coach

General Description: 

The Agile Coach is a charismatic leader who works with D2L and its development teams to adopt Agile practices and methods on critical and highly cross-functional programs.  
 
You will develop and provide D2L-appropriate Agile coaching to Engineering, Design, Product and Leadership teams, with the foundation of D2L’s Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) and a strong focus on Scrum and Kanban practices. 
 
You will lead D2L’s Sprint Operations model to enhance release planning, Agile ceremonies, continuous integration, and continuous delivery practices. You have experience with productivity tools, reporting metrics and the data need for Velocity, Program Predictability Metrics, Lead Time and Cycle Time, Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD), Business Value Delivered (BVD), Quality Metrics, Inspect and Adapt (I&A) Metrics, Agile Release Train (ART) Metrics. 

You will consult on other processes across D2L, championing Agile best practices.  

You will guide teams to continuously reflect and improve, becoming more effective in their roles and increasing the value of their outcomes, collaboration, and quality practices. 
 
You will evangelize the need for a strong enterprise Agile, provide learning overview presentations promoting Agile practices, and introduce Agile methodologies.

Major Responsibilities: 

• Provide leadership, direction, and coaching to the Agile program and Scrum teams 
• Implement and improve Agile processes across D2L, fostering a collaborative and performance-driven environment.  
• Guide and Coach the Scrum Teams and organization on how to scale Agile/Scrum practices and values while also meeting delivery commitments 
• Assess Scrum maturity of the organization and identify how individual Scrum teams can increase their Agile maturity level 
• Expertly utilize productivity tools like Jira, Confluence and Aha! and have a deep understanding on how to operationalize, leverage and mature those toolsets for maximum insight: planning, visibility, predictability, and data-informed decision making.  
• Actively contribute to the company's Agile and Scrum community through leading an internal Agile Community of Practice 
• Act as a mentor to Product Management, Engineering, Design, and Operations teams and leadership on emerging Agile and Lean practices 
• Support change management and the needs of a large product organization to shift to new ways of working and implement agility in the project delivery processes using methodologies like SAFe, Scrum and Kanban. 
• Expertly apply emerging industry, Agile practices and technology solutions to portfolio initiatives. 
• Provide support to the team using a servant leadership style and leading by example.

Competencies: 

• Comfortable working both independently and across departments to develop processes that benefit D2L’s product development and delivery. 
• Relationship-builder to effectively implement processes that support improved company-wide operational performance and deliver important business results. 
• Ability to mentor more junior team members and colleagues. 
• Passionate about building a data-driven organizations and leveraging insights to drive decisions 
• Outstanding communication skills with a great reputation for conveying highly complex ideas and concepts with simplicity, power, and emotional impact. 
• Strong business acumen and thrive in an organization that is simultaneously mission, growth, and business driven. 
• Thrives and quickly executes in an environment of rapid change, minimal structure, and high expectations. 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills to express ideas and information clearly, concisely, and effectively, adapting communication style to suit different audiences and can convey complex concepts in a straightforward manner.  
• Adaptability and flexibility to respond to changing business needs and deadlines.  
• Outstanding organizational skills to manage multiple priorities and establishes timeframes and resources that are reasonable and attainable.  
• Strong analytical and problem-solving to track record of identifying issues, gathering relevant information, and employing critical thinking to propose effective solutions.  
• Ability to switch between tasks seamlessly, prioritize effectively, and meet deadlines consistently  
• Ability to share expertise and knowledge effectively, providing constructive feedback and personalized guidance to team member  
• Capability to establish and sustain executive-level relationships, fostering strong connections with key stakeholders  

Skills: 

• Expert in the Atlassian tool suite (Jira, Confluence) with experience utilizing techniques to leverage these tools for program visibility.  Proficient in other common project and work management tools (Smartsheet, Lucidchart, Miro). 
• Expert in product planning tools (Aha!). 
• Demonstrated success in leading high-performance teams. 
• Demonstrated ability to independently translate strategy, solution complex issues, and drive for results through personal and team accountability, while building strong organizational bridges. 
   

D2L Leadership Competencies  

• Leads by Example with personal and professional integrity, high accountability and say/do ratio   
• Boundaryless collaboration and influence skills both within team, peer group and broader organization. Effective communicator with a proven track record of success.  
• Delivers Awesome Outcomes: Strategic mindset and business acumen, with strong prioritization skills and a focus on organizational outcomes vs. team tasks. Effective problem solver, able to achieve results individually and through others, in fast paced, deadline-driven environments.   
• Talent Magnet: Talent-focused leader, with demonstrated ability to coach, build and lead a high performing, diverse team.   
• Better, Smarter, Faster: An agile learner, with a growth mindset, attention to detail and organizational skills. An operationally minded leader, with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.  
• Wins Hearts and Minds: An effective communicator, with the ability to connect the why and the what. A change agent, with proven delegation, motivation, and team building skills.  

Suggested Qualifications/Experience: 

• 8+ years of directly related work experience in a fast-paced, global, high-growth SaaS technology markets; education technology experience an asset 
• 8+ years of successful track record of leading Agile transformations programs and working with cross-functional teams to deliver complex, corporate-wide programs and projects on-time, with quality, and aligned business outcomes 
• Proven experience defining, implementing, and iterating portfolio, program, and project management practices and processes within a fast-growing technology company 
• Agile, Project Management, and/or Change Management certification(s) a strong plus (i.e., PMP, PMI-ACP, Six Sigma CSM, CSPO, PSM, SAFe, Prosci)  
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field 

D2L is committed to a fair and inclusive work environment. We are an equal opportunity employer that hires and attracts talent regardless of age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, status as a protected veteran or any other legally protected grounds and will not discriminate on these bases. We draw on diversity of thought and experience to reflect the rich array of cultures representing our broad customer base and we seek talent with diversity of life experiences and perspectives from around the world. If you have special accessibility requirements that need to be considered during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected] and a member of our HR team will get back to you. Information received relating to accommodation needs of applicants will be addressed confidentially. D2L maintains a drug-free workplace.