Scrum Master

at TransAmerica Life Insurance Company
Published March 15, 2023
Location Cedar Rapids, IA
Category Default  
Job Type Full-time  

Description

Job Family

Agile Leadership

Who We Are

Transamerica has been helping people feel better about the future for more than 100 years. We provide investment, retirement, and life insurance solutions to more than 11 million customers throughout the U.S. But the way we see it, our responsibility goes beyond our clients' accounts. We're in the business of helping people live well and empowering them to create a better tomorrow through the financial and health-related habits they form today. We help people prepare by providing solutions that consider the whole picture.

What We Do

Transamerica is organized by lines of business (Life Insurance, Annuities, Mutual Funds, Retirement Plans, Employee Benefits, and Financial Assets), which are supported by Transamerica Corporate (Corporate Development; Finance; Internal Audit; Legislative, Regulatory & Policy; Office of the CEO; People, Places & Brand; Risk; and Technology).

Job Description Summary

Global Technology Services (GTS) is Aegon's global IT partner that provides infrastructure services, information security and global/corporate application support for Aegon's businesses around the world.

From 6 locations in the US, the Netherlands, UK, and Hungary, we support 20+ country units and 24000+ employees in the world. Our support consists of a wide range of centralized global IT services such as programming, database management, project management, agile/dev/ops, and more.

We continue to maximize the value from having a clear digital and data technology platform strategy that extends our ecosystem, as an approach to digitization, enhancing customer experience, and improving operational efficiency.

All of these teams work closely together to provide innovative and digital solutions as well as critical technology support. This is essential for enabling Aegon's businesses around the globe to be innovative, digital and competitive, efficient, and effective, and to provide the best solutions and customer experience for our customers and shareholders.

Act as a servant leader to coach team members to self-organize, self-manage, and deliver via effective and agreed upon Agile practices. Strive to remove impediments and foster an environment for high-performing team dynamics, continuous flow, and relentless improvement. Help team members communicate, coordinate, and cooperate to meet delivery goals.

Job Description

What You Will Do:

* Serve and support the Product Owner and Development team to do everything possible to delight the customer.
* Build a high-performing team by applying a servant leadership style and leading by example.
* Guide and coach the team on how to get the most out of self-organization and how to fill in the intentional gaps left in the Agile/Scrum frameworks.
* Assess the Scrum maturity of the team and coach the team to higher levels of maturity, at a pace that is sustainable and comfortable for the team and organization.
* Remove impediments or guide the team to remove impediments which may involve working with other teams, experts or leaders.
* Build a trusting and safe environment, where problems can be raised without fear of blame, retribution, or being judged, with an emphasis of healing and problem solving.
* Facilitate getting the work done without coercion, assigning, or dictating the work.
* Protect the team from uncontrolled expansion of work by communicating effectively with key stakeholders, including management.
* Facilitate planning discussion, work estimation, decision making, and conflict resolution.
* Coordinate with other teams, and via Scrum of Scrums, to pass information bi-directionally, facilitating inter-team dialog opportunities to remove impediments.
* Assist with internal and external communication, improve transparency, and radiate information.
* Support and educate the Product Owner, especially with respect to refining (aka grooming) and managing the product backlog in support of sprint planning.

What You Will Need:

Qualifications

* Bachelor's degree in a business-related field, or equivalent education or experience.
* Demonstrated servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency.
* Knowledge of patterns and techniques, including Burndown techniques, Retrospective formats, handling bugs, etc.
* Knowledge and facility with Agile tools, such as JIRA, which are used to capture user stories and track team progress.
* Knowledge and developing awareness of applying game-oriented facilitation techniques and tools.
* Excellent communication and mentoring skills.
* Ability to use and present data to tell a story to the team and leadership.

Preferred Qualifications:

* First level Scrum Master Certification (PSM I, CSM, SAFe Scrum Master)
* Experience in a Scrum Master role.
* Experience serving on multiple Scrum teams, in a variety of contexts (e.g. team size, organization type, culture, co-located vs. distributed).
* Record of continued and recent education in Scrum, including training, conferences, user groups, self-study, etc.
* Knowledge of approaches discussed in the Agile space: XP, Kanban, SAFe, LeSS, Crystal, FDD, etc.
* Knowledge and/or experience with Agile techniques, including User Stories, ATDD, TDD, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, Pairing, Automated Testing, Agile Games.
* Experience as a collaborative leader.

Please note that the compensation information that follows is a good faith estimate for this position only and is provided pursuant to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and Equal Pay Transparency Rules. It is estimated based on what a successful Colorado applicant might be paid. It assumes that the successful candidate will be in Colorado or perform the position from Colorado. Similar positions located outside of Colorado will not necessarily receive the same compensation.

Compensation:

The salary for this position generally ranges between $88,000 - $110,000. This range is an estimate, based on potential employee qualifications, operational needs and other considerations permitted by law. The range may vary above and below the stated amounts, as permitted by Colorado Equal Pay Transparency Rule 4.1.2.

Bonus Eligibility:

This position is also typically eligible for an annual bonus based on the Company Bonus Plan/Individual Performance and is at Company Discretion at a rate of 10%.

Working Conditions

* Office Environment
* Hybrid or work from home
* Occasional travel

What We Offer

For eligible employees, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support both the personal and financial well-being of our employees.

Compensation Benefits

* Competitive Pay

* Bonus for Eligible Employees

Benefits Package

* Pension Plan

* 401k Match

* Employee Stock Purchase Plan

* Tuition Reimbursement

* Disability Insurance

* Medical Insurance

* Dental Insurance

* Vision Insurance

* Stock Purchase Plan

* Employee Discounts

* Career Training & Development Opportunities

Health and Work/Life Balance Benefits

* Paid Time Off starting at 160 hours annually for employees in their first year of service.

* Ten (10) paid holidays per year (typically mirroring the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) holidays).

* Be Well Company holistic wellness program, which includes Wellness Coaching and Reward Dollars

* Parental Leave - fifteen (15) days of paid parental leave per calendar year to eligible employees with at least one year of service at the time of birth, placement of an adopted child, or placement of a foster care child.

* Adoption Assistance

* Employee Assistance Program

* College Coach Program

* Back-Up Care Program

* PTO for Volunteer Hours

* Employee Matching Gifts Program

* Employee Resource Groups

* Inclusion and Diversity Programs

* Employee Recognition Program

* Referral Bonus Programs

* Peer Recognition Program (BRAVO)

Inclusion & Diversity

Transamerica has made a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity, and we are proud to be an organization where all perspectives are valued. Transamerica has earned recognition for its strong efforts year-over-year, including from the Human Rights Campaign's Foundation Corporate Equality Index, the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index, and Seramount's "100 Best Companies" list.

In addition, as part of Transamerica's commitment to maintaining an inclusive workplace, the company sponsors employee-driven Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are formed around a shared interest or a common characteristic of diversity. ERGs are open to all employees and provide a supportive environment for raising diversity awareness and promoting inclusive behavior.

Giving Back

Transamerica believes our responsibilities extend beyond our corporate walls. That's why we created the Aegon Transamerica Foundation in 1994. Through a combination of financial grants and the volunteer commitment of our employees, this foundation supports nonprofit organizations focused on the education, health, and well-being of the communities where we live and work.

https://www.transamerica.com/why-transamerica/aegon-transamerica-foundation

Transamerica's Parent Company

Aegon acquired the Transamerica business in 1999. Aegon's roots go back more than 175 years to the first half of the nineteenth century. Since then, Aegon has grown into an international company, with businesses in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Today, Aegon is one of the world's leading financial services organizations, providing life insurance, pensions, and asset management. As a leading global investor and employer, the company seeks to have a positive impact by addressing critical environmental and societal issues, with a focus on climate change and inclusion and diversity.

Websites

Transamerica | Protecting Your Wealth and Health since 1906

Aegon Group Corporate Website | Aegon

Management Team

Transamerica Leadership - Standing For Financial Innovation Since 1906 | Transamerica