Scrum Master (Extreme Programming / XP)

Sabenza IT & Recruitment; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Sabenza IT & Recruitment in Johannesburg is seeking a Senior Scrum Master/Agile Coach to lead cross-functional software teams. You will coach Scrum, XP practices, and ensure TDD, CI/CD, and refactoring are the default ways of working.

You will partner with Product Owners, remove impediments quickly, and measure velocity, quality, and flow. This is a hands-on, technical leadership role with a focus on sustainable pace.

Qualifications

• 5+ years as Scrum Master or Agile Coach in software teams.
• Mandatory: practical Extreme Programming (XP) alongside Scrum.
• Hands-on coaching of TDD, pairing and CI/CD with real teams.
• Design patterns, refactoring and unit testing.
• Elite facilitation, conflict resolution and communication.
• Expert-level Jira

Responsibilities

• Facilitate planning, stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives that produce decisions, not theatre.
• Remove impediments fast.
• Coach Scrum values and self-organisation until they are habits.
• Partner with the Product Owner on a healthy, ordered backlog.
• Embed TDD, pair programming, continuous integration, refactoring and collective code ownership.
• Treat TDD as the default path to simple, maintainable code.
• Run short cycles that end in working software.
• Protect sustainable pace — deadlines matter, burnout is not a delivery strategy.
• Mentor cross-functional teams.
• Keep tight feedback loops with stakeholders.
• Publish a clear picture of team health.

Skills

Scrum Master

Agile Coaching

XP Practices

TDD

Pair Programming

CI/CD

Jira Expert

Design Patterns

Refactoring

Communication

Conflict Resolution

Tools

Jira

Job description

Johannesburg, South Africa | Posted on 01/09/2026

This is not a ceremony-only Scrum Master brief. You make agility real at the keyboard — coaching one or more cross-functional teams to combine Scrum discipline with Extreme Programming. You protect flow, raise craft, and refuse the false choice between speed and quality.

If you can run a tight sprint and sit with developers until TDD, pairing, refactoring and CI are the default, this role was written for you.

Why this role is different

• You coach process and engineering . Stand-ups without TDD is half a job.
• You close the gap between the Product Owner’s intent and the quality of the code that ships.
• You measure what matters: velocity, defect leakage, build health, pairing cadence, sustainable pace.
• You are a servant-leader with teeth. Impediments get removed, not logged and forgotten.

What you will do

Facilitate planning, stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives that produce decisions, not theatre. Remove impediments fast. Coach Scrum values and self-organisation until they are habits. Partner with the Product Owner on a healthy, ordered backlog.

XP practice coaching

Embed TDD, pair programming, continuous integration, refactoring and collective code ownership. Treat TDD as the default path to simple, maintainable code. Run short cycles that end in working software. Protect sustainable pace — deadlines matter, burnout is not a delivery strategy.

Agile coaching

Mentor cross-functional teams. Keep tight feedback loops with stakeholders. Publish a clear picture of team health.

Requirements

What you must bring

• 5+ years as Scrum Master or Agile Coach in software teams
• Mandatory: practical Extreme Programming (XP) alongside Scrum
• Hands-on coaching of TDD, pairing and CI/CD with real teams
• Design patterns, refactoring and unit testing
• Elite facilitation, conflict resolution and communication
• Expert-level Jira

What will set you apart

CSM / PSM I or II · Certified Scrum Developer (highly valued) · Kanban / SAFe / Scrumban used with judgement · a development background (useful, not required)

The person who thrives here

Calm under pressure. Direct without theatre. More interested in working software than perfect boards. Comfortable saying “we are not pairing enough” — then sitting down to pair.