Scrum Master

Job Information

Date Opened

08/05/2026 Job Type

Contract Industry

Financial Services City

Cape Town State/Province

Western Cape Country

South Africa Zip/Postal Code

7100

Job Description

IT Scrum Master Role

• The Scrum Master (SM) is a team-based servant leader who coaches, supports, and champions Agile philosophy, practices, and processes. (The SM is not a "mini" Project Manager or Team Lead.)
• The SM serves as the Agile team's gatekeeper, working closely with the Project Manager and/or Programme Manager, project stakeholders, and third parties to protect the team from uncontrolled work requests and shifting priorities.
• The SM collaborates with the Project Manager and/or Programme Manager to ensure alignment with the broader programme delivery framework and timelines.
• The SM's primary objective is to help the self-organising, cross-functional Agile team achieve its delivery goals through effective collaboration, team ownership, and a focus on sustainable velocity.
• The SM is responsible for identifying and removing impediments or escalating them where appropriate.
• The SM supports the Product Owner and facilitates strong team collaboration around priorities, quality, and scope.

3. Scrum Master Responsibilities

• Demonstrate Lean-Agile leadership and behaviours, coaching the team to embrace Agile values, principles, and best practices.
• Act as the Agile team's facilitator, continuously challenging outdated ways of working and promoting Agile thinking.
• Support the team in achieving Sprint goals, maintaining delivery velocity, improving quality, estimation accuracy, and delivery flow.
• Guide the team in establishing consistent User Story estimation practices, as well as estimating larger features, themes, and epics.
• While not responsible for technical decisions or delivery, the Scrum Master should understand the delivery framework and sequencing of technical enablers to support effective planning.
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies, including:
  • Backlog Refinement
  • Daily Stand-ups
  • Scrum of Scrums
  • Sprint Planning
  • Sprint Reviews/Demos
  • Sprint Retrospectives
• Remove impediments that impact team delivery by coordinating with stakeholders and support teams where required.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, quality, technical excellence, and efficient delivery by supporting Communities of Practice and facilitating adherence to the Definition of Done (DoD).
• Continuously improve team dynamics, collaboration, and performance while helping resolve interpersonal conflicts and escalating people-related issues when necessary.

4. Scrum Master Skills

• Strong knowledge of Agile principles and Scrum framework with the ability to coach teams and stakeholders on Scrum theory, rules, and practices.
• Solid understanding of iterative and incremental software development.
• Good understanding of software development practices and DevOps principles.
• Proficiency with Jira and Confluence.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

5. Scrum Master Experience

Scrum Framework

• Solid understanding of Scrum, including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews, Sprint Retrospectives, and Backlog Refinement.
• Strong facilitation skills with the ability to independently lead Scrum ceremonies and adapt them to the team's needs.

Leadership & Coaching

• Experience coaching Agile teams and helping them continuously improve Scrum adoption and maturity.
• Strong conflict resolution skills with the ability to identify and address team dysfunctions constructively.
• Demonstrated servant leadership, fostering collaboration, empowerment, accountability, and self-organisation.

Stakeholder Management

• Experience working closely with Product Owners, Project Managers, business stakeholders, and delivery teams to facilitate effective communication.
• Proven ability to identify, manage, and remove impediments related to processes, resources, or external dependencies.