Position Overview
HAI Group is looking for a senior scrum master who combines strategic thinking with close team engagement, is an effective influencer and enjoys being integral in continuous improvement efforts. The senior scrum master serves as a coach with a focus on mindset and behaviors to help teams achieve increasing levels of success.
The senior scrum master should be able to work upward and across teams to build rapport and partner with others to solve common problems. This position requires the senior scrum master to bring knowledge of Agile principles and ceremonies, experiences in collaboration across complex organizations, removing impediments, and ensuring team progress towards their missions and deliverables.
The individual will be part of an IT team supporting a multi-value stream environment and highly visible strategic agenda for the organization. This senior scrum master embodies the departments core values, is team oriented, collaborates, and leads with excellence and innovation. This requires the senior scrum master to have high level of personal accountability, as evidenced by their commitment, resilience, ownership, and mindset toward continuous learning.
Essential Functions

• Builds team collaboration and commitment towards achieving sprint objectives and viewing team needs above everything else
• Protects the team from outside influences to ensure the team remains focused on committed priorities
• Removes impediments, and foster an environment for high-performing team dynamics, continuous flow, and relentless improvement
• Performs evaluations of team progress, pain points, successes and new steps to guide teams in progressive improvements
• Effectively facilitates Planning and Sprint ceremonies to encourage team accountability, self-organization, and empowerment
• Facilitates Retrospectives which generate new ideas for process improvement
• Integral contributing member and active participant of Lean Agile Center of Excellence (LACE)
• Focuses on issues of diverse scope where analysis of situation or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors
• Maintains effective information radiators that aid transparency, and encourage clear communication between the development team, the Product Owner, stakeholders and leadership
• Partners with SAFe POPM and development to ensure the backlog is prioritized based on business value and ready for the teams, manage progress and facilitate release planning
• Directly contributes to the success of the team in feature delivery and achieving commitments
• Must be comfortable communicating with development teams, Product Owners, Product Management, and Senior Management
• Meticulously tracks action items and drives them to closure
• Prepares project status reports, burn down, and provide visibility to management, project sponsors and project stakeholders on overall progress, impediments & mitigation plans
• Exhibits accountability for the overall planning, coordination, execution, and delivery of value for the agile team
• Supports IT Teams and Management to execute strategic agendas.
• Identifies and remediates risks, issues and dependencies
• Engages in Self learning and develops expertise in Agile practices while also educating the team on methods beyond Scrum, such as SAFe, Team Kanban, Flow, Built-in Quality to build high performing teams
• Networks with senior internal and external personnel in own area of expertise
• Self-motivated and able to work independently with day-to-day work and general instructions on new assignments
• Participates in a variety of learning opportunities to maintain knowledge of current and emerging developments/trends

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
Knowledge

• Demonstrated experience with Scrum in addition to extensive knowledge of other Agile development approaches and practices like SAFe, Kanban , XP, etc
• Proficient with Agile Management tools; JIRA and Confluence preferred
• Well versed with Agile metrics & techniques to assess sprint health: Burn Down Metrics, Velocity, WSJF
• Good knowledge of software engineering processes and procedures including fundamentals of iterative and incremental development
• Demonstrates good judgment in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions
• Experience in Insurance domain is helpful desirable
• MS Office applications: Excel, MS Project, Visio, Word, and PowerPoint

Skills and Talents

• Ability to support and facilitates generally 2-3 scrum teams and ensures that the Scaled Agile guiding principles are understood, utilized, and practiced
• Excellent interpersonal skills - ability to work with diverse personality types and distributed team Members across time zones
• Ability to provide effective coaching and constructive feedback to teams/individuals as well as influencing the team
• Strong analytical, oral and written communication, presentation skills
• Ability to navigate through ambiguity, set direction, and influence those not under direct line of management
• Possess solid skills for Active Listening, Consultative Skills and Communication Skills- written, verbal
• Excellent relationship management, communication, teamwork, and influence skills

Job Requirements

• Requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a bachelor's degree in related field; or 3 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work experience.
• Demonstrated experience working as a seasoned Scrum Master and guiding multiple teams with an agile framework utilizing Scrum Processes and at least two (2) years organizing, planning and executing large-scale projects
• Industry certifications such as Certified Scrum Master (CSM), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), or SAFe Advanced Scrum Master (SASM) Or SAFe Agilist is highly desired

Work environment & Physical Demands

• Inside climate-controlled office building
• Ability to lift 25lbs
• <10% Travel
• Prolonged sitting and using a PC

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Department Overview
HAI Group's Information Technology department is responsible for delivering business solutions through effective program execution of key business and operational initiatives across the organization, following Scaled Agile Frameworks' (SAFe) principle.
The Information Technology Department works closely with internal and external business partners using their subject matter expertise to strategically invest in information systems and infrastructure across the enterprise. Flexible and adaptive to customer needs, the Information Technology Team takes a broad view of the HAI Group enterprise; contributing research and development to strengthen and add value to business operations.
Information Technology develops its team in both the technical and leadership career paths to support customers while meeting the development needs of the team. Highly responsive, the team continually explores best practices and their application to growing the HAI Group enterprise.
Company Overview
HAI Group®(1), is the nation's leading property-casualty insurance company founded by and dedicated to affordable housing organizations. While we are recognized as a pioneer of affordable housing insurance programs, insurance is not our only strength. We protect, preserve, and promote the sustainability of affordable housing with an array of products and services that support the challenges housing organizations face. Besides insurance, we offer risk management services, online training, and consulting services used by more than 1,500 housing organizations nationwide. Headquartered in Cheshire, Connecticut, HAI Group® was recognized as a Top Workplace in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Cultural Objective
HAI Group contributes to a culture that creates a safe and healthy working environment and a space of inclusiveness and belonging for all by: exceeding our customers' expectations, working collaboratively across the organization, embracing diversity, and demonstrating mutual respect and empathy.
HAI Group Benefits and Perks

• Bonus program eligibility
• Annual merit program
• Outstanding 401(k) program and non-elective contribution
• Flexible work schedules
• Generous paid time off, paid volunteer days and paid holidays
• Medical, vision and dental Insurance
• Company paid life, AD&D, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage
• HSA, FSA and dependent care options
• On-Site wellness: Full gym and locker rooms, wellness initiatives, outdoor basketball and tennis court, picnic pavilion area
• Tuition reimbursement and loan repayment
• Professional development
• Community outreach

HAI Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
No agency submissions please. Resumes submitted to any HAI Group employee without a current, signed and valid contract in place with the HAI Group Recruiting team for this position will become the property of HAI Group and no agency fees will be paid.
(1) HAI Group® is a marketing name used to refer to insurers, a producer, and related service providers affiliated through a common mission, management, and governance. Property-casualty insurance and related services are written or provided by Housing Authority Risk Retention Group, Inc.; Housing Authority Property Insurance, A Mutual Company; Housing Enterprise Insurance Company, Inc.; Housing Specialty Insurance Company, Inc.; Innovative Housing Insurance Company Inc.; Housing Investment Group, Inc.; and Housing Insurance Services, Inc. (DBA Housing Insurance Agency Services, Inc. in NY and MI).