Agile Coach

At AstraZeneca, we believe in the potential of our people and you’ll develop beyond what you thought possible. We make the most of your skills and passion by actively supporting you to see what you can achieve no matter where you start with us.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we're more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we're proud to have a unique workplace culture that inspires innovation and collaboration. Here, employees are empowered to express different perspectives - and are made to feel valued, energized and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

The Agile Coach will work with Delivery Teams – Business Technology Groups, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, AZ IT leaders, and business partners as part of the LACE (Lean Agile Centre of Enablement) to assist with embedding Agile practices and attitudes across AstraZeneca

As an Agile DevOps Coach, you will provide hands-on support to Agile teams, whilst collaborating with people across widely varying levels and roles. You will work with customers to drive improvements in agile maturity and to advance technical practices while demonstrating quantifiable progress towards achieving higher performing teams and improved business outcomes.

The role will be a catalyst towards driving /supporting the transformation journey in the below areas:

• Delivery Agility
• Product Agility
• Organisational Agility
• Leadership Agility

This role will require someone to operate actively as a change agent, creating an environment of continuous improvement, challenging the status quo, and developing a compelling case for change and adoption of Agile practices. In fulfilling this role, the selected candidate will work directly with teams to deliver training, coaching, and assessments, presentations and written documents on Agile practices, tools, and techniques to support AZ IT’s goal of maturing Agile delivery practices

Typical Accountabilities

• Coach Leadership teams to develop strategic and annual Lean-Agile plans that deliver required uplift in Lean-Agile maturity and business value.
• Ability to drive strategic key priorities which have high visibility like Spotlights / Lighthouse initiatives etc.,
• Coach Leadership teams to develop effective maturity and performance scorecards and Inspect and Adapt review process to drive execution. Jointly accountable for benefit delivery.
• A Lean-Agile inspiration to others, a champion for Lean-Agile (Business and Technology teams)
• Provide necessary coaching and deliver/arrange Lean-Agile training as required to ensure colleagues build and maintain the required levels of Lean-Agile competence
• Exploit Internal and external benchmarking to inform quality of Lean-Agile approach and plans.
• Drive cultural change by championing an agile mindset, and ensure the organization is adhering to industry best practices
• Craft and evolve scaled agile principles and practices to help teams of teams be effective in delivery wherever applicable
• Foster a collaborative, cross-functional environment in which to build great products, solve customer needs, and continuously improve
• Represent AZ externally, acting as a brand ambassador and for AZ as a great place to work.
• Accountable for the development/delivery of specific projects to improve the Lean-Agile system to support delivery of business goals

What you can bring to this role:

• Significant commercial experience in a similar role with proven expertise
• Strong consulting and facilitation skills in leading technical teams in the adoption and improvement of Agile frameworks and technical practices
• Ability to facilitate discussion, decision-making, and conflict resolution
• Strong relationship building skills, with a demonstrated ability to work independently
• Excellent training and presentation skills including the design of training materials
• Experience in the overall planning, organization, and execution of technology initiatives within Agile space.
• Awareness of build and virtualization approaches to facilitate delivery
• Certified Scrum Master, Agile certifications and experience in scaling Agile – SAFe or other frameworks
• Well-developed communication skills, leadership and influencing skills, applied in a global environment
• Excellent listening and communication skills
• Ability to interpret and communicate technical information into business language and vice versa
• The ability to manage negotiations, expectations and solutions across complex groups
• Strong networking and consultancy skills

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.