Senior Scrum Master

The National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation are proud to be part of a highly respected industry, providing hospitality, opportunity, and quality of life. Much like the industry we represent, we have a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive culture, grounded in trust, hospitality, collaboration, and innovation. These are the core values that inspire our work, and what we're looking for in a Senior Scrum Master to support the transformation of our development practices.

Working as part of our PMO team, you will be the embedded facilitator of the Agile/Scrum methodology supporting the Development and Quality Assurance teams that deliver business value for all departments. As Senior Scrum Master, you will serve as task manager for organizing and tracking development work to meet timeline and sprint commitments in alignment with organization priorities and resolve or escalate work blockages. Collaborating closely with Product Owners, you will manage the "definition of done", ensuring artifacts such as Epics and Stories are well-defined, refined, and executable to meet the goals of each sprint.

Ideal candidates bring a minimum of three to five years of proven experience as a Scrum Master or Agile coach in support of development projects. Position requires a pragmatic and servant driven leadership mindset, with the ability to inspire collaboration, accountability, and partnership.

This role operates from our Chicago office, following our hybrid work structure with a required three days onsite, Monday - Wednesday and remote days Thursday and Friday.

The work you will do as Sr. Scrum Master will allow us to deliver maximum value in support of our digital transformation efforts and business goals.

We are proud to offer our team members comprehensive benefits, designed to support their financial, professional, and personal well-being. In addition to outstanding healthcare coverage (medical, dental and vision), competitive salaries, generous vacation and leave time, we offer a matching 401(k) plan, a unique collection of corporate discounts and memberships, as well as programs to support career and skills development, including coaching, learning and tuition assistance, and so much more.

Responsibilities

• Lead and facilitate Scrum ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews, and Sprint Retrospectives.
• Coach the team in Agile principles and practices, ensuring adherence to Scrum framework guidelines and promoting self-organization and cross-functionality.
• Identify and remove impediments or obstacles that hinder the team's progress, escalating issues when necessary to ensure timely resolution.
• Protect the team from external distractions and influences, enabling focus on Sprint goals and commitments.
• Work closely with Product Owners to ensure product backlog refinement, prioritize user stories, and maintain a healthy backlog for upcoming Sprints.
• Foster effective communication within the team and with stakeholders, ensuring transparency, openness, and collaboration.
• Monitor and track Sprint progress, burndown charts, velocity, and other relevant metrics, providing visibility into the team's performance.
• Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the team, facilitating retrospectives to identify and implement process improvements.
• Lead by example, embodying Agile values and principles, and demonstrating servant leadership qualities.
• Assess the Scrum maturity of the team and organization, and coach them to higher levels of maturity, at a pace that is sustainable and comfortable for the team and organization.

Leadership Duties

• Lead by example, embodying Agile values and principles, and demonstrating servant leadership qualities.
• Be a willing voice that motivates and inspires the team towards a common goal.
• Promote Continuous Improvement: Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the team, assess the Scrum maturity of the team and organization, and coach them to higher levels of maturity, at a pace that is sustainable and comfortable for the team and organization.

Emotional Demands

• Pragmatism over Evangelism: Help the National Restaurant Association gain benefits of Agile/Scrum within the realities of its structure and personnel.
• Organizational Savvy: While relatively small, the National Restaurant Association has multiple departments and competing priorities. This role will need to navigate a complex organization with multiple stakeholders.
• Servant Leadership: Encourages getting work done without coercion, assigning, or dictating the work; guides the team on how to get the most out of self-organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field.
• Minimum three to five years of proven experience as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach in software development projects.
• Strong understanding of Agile principles and Scrum framework.
• Excellent facilitation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to motivate and inspire teams towards a common goal.
• Certification such as Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM) is preferred.
• Understanding of software development lifecycles.
• Exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Strong interpersonal and diplomacy skills.
• Highly effective time management, organizational, and priority setting skills.
• Experience effectively managing competing priorities.
• Computer proficiency across MS Office; ability to learn other computer software programs as needed.
• Flexible and resilient; able to thrive in fast-paced environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The National Restaurant Association, National Restaurant Association Solutions, LLC, and The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (together, "Company") is committed to equal employment opportunity, and it is Company's policy to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles, and ensure that all other personnel actions are administered, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status and disability, or other legally protected status, and we will ensure that all employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements.

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.