Senior Consultant - Scrum Master

Job Title: Senior Consultant

Career Level: D2

Introduction to role:

Are you ready to make a difference in the world of biopharmaceuticals? AstraZeneca is a global leader in the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the most serious diseases. Our R&D IT team supports key business areas across the US, UK, Sweden, India, and Mexico. We are seeking an experienced Scrum Master with a deep understanding of the Scrum framework to join our dynamic team. Are you up for the challenge?

Accountabilities:

• Agile coaching and supporting the Product Owner, especially with respect to grooming and maintaining the product backlog.

• Enable the development team to focus on the rules of Scrum and the work of the Sprint, encouraging the delivery of high-value and sophisticated products with increased predictability.

• Facilitate the team's progress toward Sprint goals, commitments, and successful delivery – Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-up, Backlog Refinement, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

• Foster a positive team environment, growing the team's candor and confidence to tackle challenges. Ensure everyone is respected, contributes optimally, and is heard.

• Creating Resource burn down charts and other reporting artifacts.

• Resolving sprint blockers and handling resource allocation during sprints delivery from multiple teams.

• Apply JIRA as the primary tool for understanding status and progress & measuring the output of the team.

• Acts as a change agent that increases the productivity of the team.

• Removing impediments to the development progress, actively coordinating with external teams to resolve dependencies, and timely escalation when beyond the team’s control.

• Ensure ongoing and active collaboration between the Product Owner and the Development team for Story definition and acceptance, ensuring the development quality products first time.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Experience playing the Scrum Master role for at least 5 years for a software development or COTS implementation team with minimum 8 years of experience.

• Experience with widely successful Agile approaches and techniques.

• Experience engaging project stakeholders not familiar with Scrum.

• Coordinate sprints, retrospective & review meetings, and daily stand-ups.

• Strong communication, interpersonal and mentoring skills.

• Problem-solving and conflict-resolution ability.

• Some traditional project management experience (e.g., Coordinate release management, create project documentation, handle communications to stakeholders, negotiate schedule with stakeholders, provide status reports to stakeholders not familiar with Agile methods).

• Jira knowledge and usage.

• EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Bachelors / master’s in computer science or related subjects.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Domain knowledge (processes & data): Life Sciences R&D, GxP.

• Advanced Jira knowledge and usage, Confluence usage.

• Scrum Master certification.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we ignite bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and daring world.

At AstraZeneca, we empower our teams to redefine an industry and change lives through brand new science combined with leading digital technology platforms. Our work directly impacts patients by redefining our ability to develop life-changing medicines. We foster an environment where innovation thrives, allowing you to explore new solutions and experiment with innovative technology. With a commitment to making a meaningful impact, we offer countless opportunities for learning and growth in a dynamic setting.

Ready to take on this exciting opportunity? Apply now and be part of our journey!

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.