Discover. A more rewarding way to work.

At Discover Financial Services, you’ll find yourself in the company of some of the industry’s smartest and most reliable professionals. And at a company that rewards dedication, values innovation and supports growth.

Thrive in an environment that promotes teamwork and shared success. Build on a foundation of mutual respect. Join the company that understands rewarding careers like no other, with this exceptional opportunity:

Lead, Scrum Master

Job Description

Discover Financial Services (DFS) seeks applicants for the position of Scrum Master-Test Environment Management, reporting to the Enterprise Test Environment Management & Support (ETEMS) Manager, within Enterprise Software Quality Management department. The Scrum Master-Test Environment Management is a key member of the ETEMS team that is committed to excellence and is dedicated to achieving the Company’s mission. The Scrum Master-Test Environment Management Position within ETEMS provides a unique and exciting opportunity for the right person to help transform the continuous improvement and change management process by using Scrum and Change Management methodology in achieving the best value for DFS.

The ETEMS team provides leadership to DFS in assuring DFS Test Environments are operational 99% of the time and incorporates continuous improvement to achieving this standard via automation, new technologies and process improvements.

General Function: Be part of a team managing Enterprise Test Environments providing 99.9% availability. This position is accountable for project managing team efforts for continuous improvements, as well as managing infrastructure changes to testing platforms. This includes development of short-term and long-term sourcing strategies that align with DFS goals for reducing cycle time and cost, mitigating risk and meeting financial expectations. The ideal candidate will not only be excellent in project management using scrum methodology, but also be exceptional in his/her ability to manage infrastructure platform changes.

Responsibilities:

• Scrum Master: Utilize KANBAN Methodology to manage continuous improvement efforts of ETEMS team, including:
• Understands and upholds the scrum Kanban framework, protects the team from distractions, and strives for early acceptance. Advocate of the agile framework
• Effectively facilitate required meetings (daily stand up/huddle, release planning, and sprint demo/retrospective). Knows how to incorporate offshore and remote team members
• Uses the appropriate features in Rally (Burnup/Burndown chart, cumulative flow diagram, enhanced velocity chart, Release planning, capacity planning)
• Enforces Kanban principles as a scrum master to achieve Cycle time reduction
• Drives the team to high performing levels by creating a healthy Agile environment, provides Agile coaching to team
• Schedules and facilitates all relevant meetings for the release, including sprint pipeline grooming, release planning, release planning and daily stand ups/huddles
• Protects the team, facilitates the removal of issues/blockers/impediments, and helps the team resolve dependencies
• Responsible for facilitating the sprint pipeline grooming that gets the User Story to Ready state
• Manages the release timelines, follows up on key action items
• Facilitates the release review and demo, sprint retrospective. Captures and distributes feedback
• Provides status updates to Product Owners, business stakeholders and management, as needed
• Completes Product Development Process (PDP) documentation
• Maintains release information in Clarity and Rally
• Promote a risk-aware culture, ensure efficient and effective risk and compliance management practices by adhering to required standards and processes
• Manages and coordinates all activities necessary to control, track and audit infrastructure changes in various Enterprise Test environments
• Conducts and Drives Change Management meetings
• Incorporate daily change requests into current change management schedule
• Publish change scheduled daily
• Produce reporting / metric on changes to ESQM Infrastructure
• Develop PIR process
• Communicate infrastructure changes to all impacted areas as well as management
• Improving current change management process using Service Now Tool
• Ensures Change status, progress and issues are communicated to the appropriate groups.
• Audits and manages the process lifecycle and reports to upper management
• Evaluates performance metrics against the defined critical success factors and institutes actions to correct shortcomings or further streamline the process as necessary
• Responsible to review Change Schedule (CS) for conflicts
• Chairs the CAB
• Report Change Management activities to upper management.
• Produce management report

Skills

• Bachelor’s degree (preferably in the technology space) or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of IT experience
• 3+ years of enterprise level expertise in project management

• Understands and upholds the scrum Kanban framework, protects the team from distractions, and strives for early acceptance. Advocate of the agile framework
• Effectively facilitate required meetings (daily stand up/huddle, release planning, and sprint demo/retrospective). Knows how to incorporate offshore and remote team members
• Demonstrates servant leadership skills
• Displays self-awareness, collaboration and empathy. Motivate, encourage, influence and empower others. Establishes strong, clear communication. Ability to give and receive feedback
• Uses the appropriate features in Rally (Burnup/Burndown chart, cumulative flow diagram, enhanced velocity chart, Release planning, capacity planning)
• Enforces Kanban principles as a scrum master to achieve Cycle time reduction
• Understands ITIL Foundation concepts and Service Now products
• Demonstrates leadership skills in seeking process improvements
• Knowledge of Distributed and Mainframe Infrastructure platforms
• Analytical in understanding impact of changes to platform and methods to avoid risk
• Proficient in Microsoft tools for reporting status
• Ability to analyze change data to seek ways of improvements
• Familiarity with infrastructure/technology stack and deployment life cycle
• Familiarity with various Cloud, Database, Storage and Network technologies.
• Tools experience with Service Now, Rally, Microsoft Office
• Experience working collaboratively with individuals and groups from a wide variety of backgrounds and organization levels, to incorporate their ideas, adapt to their needs, and to form consensus in appropriate situations
• Knowledge of numerous well documented patterns and techniques for filling in the intentional gaps left in the Scrum approach (example: numerous Burndown techniques, numerous Retrospective formats, handling bugs, etc)
• Scrum Master certification
• Experience playing the Scrum Master role for at least two years for a software development team that was diligently applying Scrum principles, practices, and theory.
• Knowledge of other Agile approaches
• Applicable knowledge of the technologies used by the team
• Excellent communication
• Strong organization skills, including meeting facilitation and decision making.
• Excellent problem solving skills, computer skills and attention to details, proficiency with the Microsoft suite of productivity applications.
• Excellent written communications, negotiation skills and strong interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated ability to create and deliver effective presentations for various levels of management.
• High level of commitment to customer service and team work
• Ability to think and act strategically

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We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.