Scrum Master

Old Mutual South Africa; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Old Mutual South Africa is seeking an experienced Scrum Master to enable Agile teams to deliver high-value outcomes. You will lead ceremonies, remove impediments, and coach teams in Agile, Scrum and SAFe practices while improving cross-team coordination and delivery performance.

You will drive backlog management, release planning and data-driven delivery, partnering with Product Owners to prioritise work and ensure measurable business outcomes across complex technology initiatives.

Qualifications

• Matric certificate and IT/Business diploma or degree required.
• Foundational Agile certification essential.
• Minimum six years as a Scrum Master leading Agile teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead Scrum ceremonies and enable effective delivery across small projects.
• Remove obstacles and facilitate problem-solving and collaboration.
• Plan and replan software releases to support benefits realization.
• Maintain a prioritised, delivery-ready backlog with clear user stories.
• Promote a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
• Execute digital roadmap elements using Agile principles.
• Identify risks, issues and dependencies and escalate when needed.
• Track team metrics and ensure transparent progress visibility.
• Assign short-term work schedules and protect sustainable delivery.
• Support resource management across workstreams and projects.

Skills

Adaptive Thinking

Agile Project Management

Backlog Management

Budget Management

Change Management

Executing Plans

Oral Communications

Project Communications Management

Project Estimations

Project Performance Management

Project Quality Assurance

Project Resource Management

Project Schedule Management

Project Scope Management

Education

Matric certificate

Relevant IT / Business related diploma or degree

NQF Level 7 - Degree or equivalent

Tools

Jira

Confluence

ADO

Miro

TFS

Job description

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

Enable Agile teams to deliver high-value outcomes predictably and sustainably. The Scrum Master leads, facilitates and coaches teams in Agile, Scrum and SAFe practices, removes delivery impediments, strengthens cross-team coordination and continuously improves team maturity and delivery performance.

IMPACT: Delivery that makes a demonstrable difference to customers, advisers and the business.

OUTCOMES: Predictable, sustainable delivery of committed value.

MATURITY: Empowered, self-managing teams with a culture of continuous improvement.

Agile Development Team Facilitation - Lead Scrum ceremonies and enable effective delivery across small projects. Remove obstacles and facilitate problem-solving, collaboration, and constructive conflict resolution. Core ceremonies include backlog refinement, sprint planning, story writing, sizing and prioritisation, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews and sprint retrospectives.

Agile Release Planning - Plan and replan software releases for medium-sized projects as delivery evolves, supporting timely updates and the earliest practical realisation of planned benefits. Enable sprint and programme increment planning against agreed objectives and business outcomes.

Agile Backlog Management - Review and help reprioritise the backlog for small projects to optimise the use of project resources, reduce avoidable cost and increase business value. Partner with Product Owners to maintain a clear, prioritised and delivery-ready backlog with well-defined user stories and acceptance criteria.

Culture of Innovation - Promote a culture of innovation, creativity and collaboration through practical mechanisms such as idea-generation platforms, jam sessions and structured continuous improvement activities.

Digital Strategy and Transformational Project Execution - Execute and deliver assigned elements of the digital roadmap, applying Agile and design-thinking principles to support sustainable implementation and measurable business outcomes.

Project Risk, Issue and Dependency Management - Identify and evaluate project risks, issues, dependencies and constraints. Escalate matters appropriately and, where necessary, facilitate agreement and implementation of practical solutions. Maintain transparent visibility of commitments, decisions and progress.

Data Collection, Analysis and Team Metrics - Collate and analyse delivery data using agreed tools, methods and formats, working independently where required. Track meaningful team and flow metrics, make work visible and use evidence to improve predictability, quality and team performance.

Work Scheduling and Allocation - Assign short-term work schedules to team members or subordinates, where applicable, to achieve agreed expectations within established timelines. Monitor progress, rebalance work when necessary and protect sustainable delivery.

Project Resource Management - Carry out delegated activities that support the deployment and effective utilisation of project resources across workstreams and teams.

Project Planning - Support the production and maintenance of workstream and project plans that identify and organise the activities required to deliver project objectives in line with the organisation’s project management framework.

Performance Management - Respond to personal objectives and use performance management systems to improve individual performance. Where team oversight forms part of the role, monitor delivery, allocate work, review completion and take appropriate corrective action to ensure timeliness and quality, while contributing to formal performance management and appraisal processes.

Personal Capability Building - Develop own capability through assessment, development planning, formal and informal learning, coaching and relevant professional accreditation. Maintain current knowledge of technology, external regulation and industry best practice through ongoing education, conferences and specialist media.

Minimum Requirements

• Matric certificate.
• Relevant IT / Business related diploma or degree.
• Foundational Agile certification.
• Minimum of six years’ experience working as a Scrum Master, including practical experience leading Agile teams and facilitating delivery across complex technology or software initiatives.
• Strong practical knowledge of Agile methods and frameworks, including Scrum, Kanban and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), with the ability to explain and apply alternative approaches when they better support the team.
• Professional facilitation and coaching skills that empower teams, encourage self-management and strengthen accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate backlog refinement, sprint planning, story writing, sizing, prioritisation, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, sprint retrospectives, PI planning and Scrum forums.
• Strong stakeholder management, negotiation, communication, collaboration and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to use team, flow and delivery metrics responsibly to identify trends, improve predictability and drive team performance.
• Practical experience with Jira and Confluence, or comparable Agile delivery tools, including maintaining sprint boards and making work, risks, dependencies and progress visible.
• Experience leading Agile teams delivering complex enterprise technology or software initiatives across Product, Engineering, Architecture, Business Analysis, Quality Engineering and business stakeholders.
• Good understanding of the software delivery lifecycle from inception through testing, user acceptance testing, release and value realisation.
• Knowledge and experience in using tracking and collaboration tools such as ADO, Miro or TFS.

Skills

Adaptive Thinking, Agile Project Management, Backlog Management, Budget Management, Change Management, Executing Plans, Oral Communications, Project Communications Management, Project Estimations, Project Performance Management (PM), Project Quality Assurance, Project Resource Management, Project Schedule Management, Project Scope Management

Competencies

• Business Insight
• Collaborates
• Communicates Effectively
• Cultivates Innovation
• Decision Quality
• Directs Work
• Drives Engagement
• Drives Results

Education

NQF Level 7 - Degree, Advance Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate or equivalent (Required)

Closing Date

24 October 2026 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

The Old Mutual Story!