Scrum Master

Job Description

Purpose of the role

Facilitates and supports Agile teams by ensuring they follow Scrum principles. To remove obstacles, enhance team collaboration, and ensure smooth communication, enabling the team to focus on delivering high-quality, iterative results. Facilitate Scrum events, promote continuous improvement, and act as a bridge between the team and external stakeholders.

Accountabilities

1.Facilitate Events: Facilitate events, as needed, and ensure that all events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox

2.Support Iteration Execution: Ensure quality of ceremony artefacts and continuous customer value through iteration execution, maintain backlog refinement, and iterate on stakeholder feedback

3.Optimize Flow: Identify and facilitate the removal of conflict impacting team flow, utilizing metrics to empower the team to communicate effectively, making all work visible

4.Mitigate Risks: Identify and escalate risks to remove impediments and shield the Squad from interruptions

5.Build High-Performing Teams: Foster and coach Agile Team attributes and continuous improvement, encourage stakeholder collaboration, deputise ‘in the moment leadership’, and drive high-performing team attributes

6.Stakeholder Management: Facilitate stakeholder collaboration (e.g., business stakeholders, product teams, vendors) and build trust with stakeholders

7.Governance and Reporting: Ensure data quality and provide representation at required governance forums, if applicable

Assistant Vice President Expectations

To advise and influence decision making, contribute to policy development and take responsibility for operational effectiveness. Collaborate closely with other functions/ business divisions.

Lead a team performing complex tasks, using well developed professional knowledge and skills to deliver on work that impacts the whole business function. Set objectives and coach employees in pursuit of those objectives, appraisal of performance relative to objectives and determination of reward outcomes

If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L - Listen and be authentic, E - Energise and inspire, A - Align across the enterprise, D - Develop others.

OR for an individual contributor, they will lead collaborative assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will identify new directions for assignments and/ or projects, identifying a combination of cross functional methodologies or practices to meet required outcomes.

Consult on complex issues; providing advice to People Leaders to support the resolution of escalated issues.

Identify ways to mitigate risk and developing new policies/procedures in support of the control and governance agenda.

Take ownership for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work done.

Perform work that is closely related to that of other areas, which requires understanding of how areas coordinate and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the organisation sub-function.

Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategy.

Engage in complex analysis of data from multiple sources of information, internal and external sources such as procedures and practises (in other areas, teams, companies, etc).to solve problems creatively and effectively.

Communicate complex information. 'Complex' information could include sensitive information or information that is difficult to communicate because of its content or its audience.

Influence or convince stakeholders to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship - our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset - to Empower, Challenge and Drive - the operating manual for how we behave.

Join us as a Scrum Master at Barclays where you will spearhead the evolution of our infrastructure and deployment pipelines, driving innovation and operational excellence. You will harness cutting-edge technology to build and manage robust, scalable and secure infrastructure, ensuring seamless delivery of our digital solutions.

To be successful as a Scrum Master, you should have experience with:

• Agile Delivery & Ceremonies.
• Facilitate and time-box all Scrum ceremonies: Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Backlog Refinement, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives.
• Ensure ceremonies are value-driven, outcome-focused, and aligned to MCP ways of working.
• Support teams in defining Sprint Goals, managing commitments, and avoiding spill-overs.
• Ensure user stories have clear acceptance criteria, are estimated with team consent, and follow Agile best practices.
• Coach teams on Agile and Scrum principles, fostering ownership, accountability, and self-organisation.
• Create a psychologically safe environment that enables honest reflection and continuous improvement.
• Identify and remove impediments and blockers to maintain delivery momentum.
• Promote strong Agile hygiene including Jira updates, correct status/labels, and transparent reporting.
• Act as a bridge between delivery teams and Product Owners, Tech Leads, Architects, Release/Integration teams, and other Scrum Masters.
• Proactively manage cross-team dependencies, risks, and delivery constraints.
• Represent the team in MCP forums (e.g. design reviews, sprint demos, governance touchpoints).
• Escalate risks and issues with clear context and data-backed insights.
• Track and report delivery health using Agile metrics (e.g. sprint predictability, carry-over, team capacity).
• Support compliance with Barclays governance, risk, and control expectations.
• Ensure transparency on delivery progress, risks, and outcomes.
• Contribute to Quarterly / PI objectives and Scrum Master OKRs for MCP teams.

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Proven experience as a Scrum Master in complex technology delivery environments.
• Strong understanding of Scrum, Agile, and Lean principles.
• Scrum certification (CSM, PSM, SAFe SSM).
• SAFe or large-scale Agile exposure.
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams (Dev, QA, Architecture).
• Hands-on experience with Jira / Agile tooling.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders across business and technology.

You may be assessed on key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

The role is based out of Pune.