Jellyvision is hiring a Agile Program Coach

Jellyvision’s headquarters is in Chicago, and, post-COVID, many of us will be returning to the Chicago offices (by choice, not requirement -- our philosophy is “Flexible First”).  But this position is also eligible for work by a remote employee out of CA, FL, GA, IL, KY, MA, MI, MN, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TX, UT, WA, or WI.

Who we are

We’re the proud parents of ALEX®, an interactive employee communications platform that makes choosing (and using) employee benefits easier and more enjoyable. Our credo is a simple one: be helpful. And we think the best way to achieve that is with a staff that reflects the vast range of ideas, perspectives, and experiences of the millions of people who use our products. 

How you’ll help

As an Agile Program Coach, you’ll be responsible for optimizing the delivery of larger initiatives within a portfolio. You will collaborate with stakeholders, leadership, delivery teams, and the organization to ensure initiatives meet the strategic outcomes and stay on track across multiple delivery teams and functional groups. You will have a holistic view of the delivery landscape which will allow you to take proactive strategic action in resolving challenges and blockers, while also providing hands-on coaching and mentoring to delivery teams within your program. 

What you’ll do

• Provide counsel and guidance as Jellyvision evolves our overall organizational structures to make us flatter, faster, and less complex.
• Manage all aspects from conception to launch including collaboration with product to establish scope, roadmap, and budget; sales and Go-To-Market  support; product and product marketing development; and coordination and implementation for post-launch success for all teams involved in the program.
• Collaborate across organizational boundaries to solve for  program interdependencies, drive definition and tracking of product milestones, and develop release plans.
• Promote, advocate and live agile principles, while still being able to forecast, scope, budget and schedule.
• Understand when to say no.
• Own the execution of the master roadmap for the program.
• While Product Managers define the budget, features, and acceptance criteria, and provide high level release dates, the Agile Program Coach will enforce priority for competing products, clear the deck and facilitate staffing teams that have the skills required to produce a product according to the development milestones the team defines.
• Deliver hands-on coaching on various Agile techniques such as creating healthy backlogs, utilizing events effectively, lessening dependencies, etc. to decrease risk, increase transparent flow of delivery, and limit work in progress.
• Coach scrum teams on planning activities for scope commitments for the master program roadmap schedule and/or large projects milestone schedules within the program.
• Develop processes that engage stakeholders with key product timelines, metrics, and results.
• Partner with product managers to define end to end launch plans and identify gaps. Include key partners such as Creative, Design, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Implementation, etc.
• Define communication plan for programs. Lead communication within the team, to stakeholders, and at cross-functional meetings.
• Own reporting to leadership against progress for product portfolio commitments and overall program schedule(s).
• Track & highlight risks to delivery and overall program schedule.
• Act as a coach to leadership in resolving usually difficult issues.
• Educate teams and leadership around agility, including the tools, techniques, and roles.

Experience & skills you’ll need

• 5+ years of demonstrated experience leading the delivery of software initiatives of varying types and complexity.
• Must have previous successful Scrum Master experience.
• Experience working with staff augmentation, nearshore, and offshore teams.
• Experience with identifying delivery issues and risks, and has a sense of urgency for removing blockers and driving continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating meetings at multiple levels of an organization and a deep understanding of facilitation techniques.
• Demonstrated advanced ability to operate using analytical, critical thinking, organizational, and project management skills.
• Demonstrated proficient ability to develop and promote effective working relationships with all levels of management.
• Hands-on experience with tools that aid teams (e.g. Jira, Confluence, Drive, collaboration tools), including better ways of organizing those tools that encourage collaboration and transparency.
• Enough technical acumen to ask great questions and challenge teams’ assumptions.

Skills:

• Balances stakeholders
• Drives results
• Global perspective
• Manages ambiguity
• Manages complexity
• Plans and aligns
• Strategic mindset

Anything else?

Jellyvision is committed to fostering a more inclusive workplace where people across all dimensions of diversity and intersectionality, including, but not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, neuro-diversity, gender identity, gender expression, sex, or country of origin are welcomed, valued, and celebrated! We have an opportunity to increase representation at all levels and need your unique talents, background and perspectives. We look forward to your contributions to our team.

Thanks for your interest in Jellyvision!