Agile coach

As an agile coach, you will work on various transition assignments within the Information Provision Department. These assignments stem from the organization's IT strategy, which includes the implementation of working in value chains in the coming years. You will be involved in various issues arising from this. Your primary focus will be on the setup and working method of the scaling agile transition, with a specific focus on the Service Delivery area.

You will do this in close collaboration with the organization and its management, providing direction to the setup and transition with authority and expertise. You are both a strategic guide and a pragmatic mentor. Your focus is on four pillars:

• Guiding the successful setup and launch of two new Agile Release Trains (ARTs) within the Service Delivery area.
• Coaching a new Release Train Engineer (RTE) and developing them into the pivot of the train.
• Strengthening product managers and product owners in strategic backlog management, portfolio-level relationships, and effectively 'slicing' backlog items through interactive workshops.
• Anchoring the Agile mindset in teams, driving relevant metrics, and working towards a predictable cadence (in terms of feature points per PI).
• Introducing and facilitating WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) at the feature level for sharp prioritization.

The goal is to enable new roles to perform their tasks independently as quickly as possible by applying AAA (Act, Assist, Answer), after which you can guide other ARTs.

You are an exceptional agile coach who excels in complex organizations with significant interests. You are organizationally sensitive, have perseverance, but never lose sight of the result. You have previous experience in a similar role as an agile coach or SAFe practice consultant within large IT organizations. You connect your knowledge and skills with the operational context, business operations, and other fields within the Information Provision Department.

You oversee the whole, place issues in a broader context, and focus on the long-term objectives of the organization. You are able to adopt a multi-faceted approach and switch depending on the context and dynamics. You are aware of the power dynamics and your own position, and you know how to use your influence appropriately. You possess execution power, enabling you to achieve effective results in a complex and dynamic environment.

You can convey complex subject matter clearly and understandably – orally, in writing, and visually – tailored to the target audience and situation. Stakeholder management is your second nature, and you possess a high degree of political-administrative sensitivity, allowing you to always strike the right tone and exert appropriate influence. You are a mentor par excellence. You excel at transferring knowledge, dare to provide constructive feedback, and get people on board based on natural authority and enthusiasm.

What they ask

• HBO (bachelor) working and thinking level; preferably in business administration, change management, organizational studies, organizational psychology, or similar.
• Understanding of the dynamics of software development, CI/CD pipelines, and architectural issues.
• More than 5 years of demonstrable experience with large-scale Agile transformations (SAFe) within IT organizations, preferably in a complex political-administrative environment and multi-chain context.
• Demonstrable experience with launching ARTs and successfully coaching and maturing roles such as RTE, PM, and PO.
• Strong methodical knowledge of methods and frameworks such as Kanban, Kaizen, WSJF, PI planning, feature-point-driven forecasting, and slicing techniques.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, combined with the ability to make complex subject matter accessible to different target groups.
• Excellent influencing skills and the ability to motivate people.

The organization invests in your future with extensive development opportunities. A temporary appointment for a probationary period of one year, with the possibility of a permanent appointment upon satisfactory performance. The formal function within the organization's job structure is business operations specialist D, working area information and communication technology.

• A reliability and environmental investigation is part of the selection procedure.
• Candidates with less experience but with the necessary knowledge and eagerness to learn are also invited to apply.
• The organization attaches great importance to diversity and invites candidates from diverse backgrounds.
• HBO (bachelor) diploma or equivalent via EVC, or at least two years of demonstrable experience at the required working and thinking level (to be demonstrated with a CV and official documentation).