Role Purpose:

The Senior Scrum Master Lead plays a pivotal role in accelerating the COPs Tribe transformation toward an AI-powered, digital-first customer care operating model.

The role acts as an Agile servant leader, delivery enabler, and transformation catalyst, driving high-performing cross-functional squads delivering Agentic AI, GenAI, intelligent automation, digital assistants, voicebots, and conversational AI solutions.

The Senior Scrum Master Lead ensures effective Agile execution, seamless cross-squad collaboration, continuous improvement, and predictable value delivery, while promoting innovation, technical excellence, and customer-centric outcomes.

Job Responsibilities:

• Lead and coach Agile squads to achieve high performance, delivery excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Drive effective adoption of modern Agile methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, SAFe, Lean Agile, and hybrid delivery approaches based on team and product needs.
• Facilitate Agile planning, refinement, reviews, retrospectives, and cross-squad synchronization, ensuring outcome-driven execution rather than ceremony-driven delivery.
• Partner with Product Owners, Engineering Leads, AI teams, and business stakeholders to ensure backlog readiness, clear priorities, effective sprint planning, and alignment with strategic objectives.
• Proactively identify, manage, and escalate delivery risks, technical dependencies, security requirements, and impediments across multiple squads and technology platforms.
• Enable seamless coordination across AI development, backend/API integration, testing, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and business teams.
• Support incremental delivery of AI-powered frontline capabilities through effective release planning, continuous testing, and DevSecOps collaboration.
• Drive Agile maturity, team empowerment, transparent communication, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Leverage Agile delivery metrics, flow analytics, and AI-powered productivity tools to improve delivery predictability, quality, efficiency, and time-to-value.
• Mentor Scrum Masters and squad members, fostering a strong Agile community and a culture of ownership, experimentation, and learning.

Core Competencies, Knowledge, and Experience

• 1. Advanced Agile Leadership & Modern Delivery Practices

  • Strong practical understanding of Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, SAFe, Lean, and Agile at scale.
  • Ability to select and adapt Agile practices for complex, multi-squad, fast-paced digital delivery environments.
  • Strong capabilities in Agile coaching, servant leadership, conflict resolution, team facilitation, and stakeholder management.
  • Experience driving cross-functional collaboration, continuous improvement, and self-organizing teams.

  2. GenAI, Agentic AI & Digital Frontline Awareness

  • Good understanding of Generative AI, Agentic AI, AI assistants, conversational AI, chatbots, voicebots, and intelligent automation.
  • Familiarity with AI-enabled customer service journeys, digital self-service, and AI-assisted frontline operations.
  • Awareness of LLMs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI agents, orchestration, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
  • Ability to facilitate Agile delivery within AI product teams, balancing experimentation, integration, testing, and production readiness.
  • Awareness of responsible AI principles, AI quality evaluation, governance, and security requirements.

  3. Technical Delivery, DevSecOps & Engineering Collaboration

  • Sound understanding of software development lifecycles, API integrations, microservices, cloud-based platforms, and system dependencies.
  • Familiarity with CI/CD, DevSecOps, automated testing, quality assurance, and release management.
  • Understanding of Agile engineering practices such as XP, TDD, BDD, continuous integration, and continuous delivery.
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with developers, solution architects, AI engineers, cybersecurity, and infrastructure teams without requiring hands-on development expertise.

  4. Agile Tools, AI Productivity & Data-Driven Delivery

  • Hands-on experience with Agile delivery and collaboration tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, Confluence, Miro, or equivalent platforms.
  • Familiarity with AI-assisted productivity tools supporting backlog refinement, documentation, knowledge management, and team collaboration.
  • Ability to leverage Agile metrics including cycle time, lead time, throughput, work in progress, delivery predictability, and impediment trends.
  • Ability to translate delivery insights into actionable improvements and communicate progress clearly to senior stakeholders.

  5. Product Mindset, Customer Experience & Business Value

  • Strong understanding of product-oriented delivery, customer journeys, business capabilities, and value-driven prioritization.
  • Ability to connect Agile execution with measurable business outcomes such as customer experience, containment, first-contact resolution, automation adoption, and operational efficiency.
  • Experience facilitating alignment between business priorities, technical feasibility, customer needs, and delivery capacity.
  • Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and change leadership capabilities.

Professional Qualifications

• Certified Scrum Master, holding a recognized certification such as Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM I or higher), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), or equivalent.
•  2–5 years of hands-on professional experience as a Scrum Master, preferably within Agile software development, digital transformation, or technology delivery environments.
• Proven experience coaching cross-functional Agile teams and facilitating end-to-end product delivery.
• Strong working knowledge of Scrum and Kanban, with demonstrated experience applying Agile practices in real delivery environments.
• Practical experience using Agile lifecycle management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or equivalent.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.

• Experience in GenAI, Agentic AI, conversational AI, digital assistants, intelligent automation, or chatbot/voicebot delivery environments.
• Experience coordinating multiple Agile squads and managing complex cross-team dependencies.
• Exposure to customer care, telecommunications, digital channels, or enterprise technology transformations.
• Additional Agile certifications such as SAFe, Kanban, Agile Coaching, or Agile Leadership.
• Exposure to AI-assisted development, Agile analytics, automation, and DevSecOps environments

Not a perfect fit?

Worried that you don’t meet all the desired criteria exactly? At Vodafone we are passionate about empowering people and creating a workplace where everyone can thrive, whatever their personal or professional background. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align exactly with every part of the job description, we encourage you to still apply as you may be the right candidate for this role or another opportunity.

Who we are

We are a leading international Telco, serving millions of customers. At Vodafone, we believe that connectivity is a force for good. If we use it for the things that really matter, it can improve people's lives and the world around us. Through our technology we empower people, connecting everyone regardless of who they are or where they live and we protect the planet, whilst helping our customers do the same.

Belonging at Vodafone isn't a concept; it's lived, breathed, and cultivated through everything we do. You'll be part of a global and diverse community, with many different minds, abilities, backgrounds and cultures. ;We're committed to increase diversity, ensure equal representation, and make Vodafone a place everyone feels safe, valued and included.

If you require any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request as part of your recruitment journey, for example, extended time or breaks in between online assessments, please refer to https://careers.vodafone.com/application-adjustments/ for guidance.

Together we can.