Skip to content

JD — Agile Coach

Owner Classification Review Date Status
People Operations Internal April 2027 Active

Job Description: Agile Coach

Department: Technology & Digital — Digital Office
Reports to: CDO / Digital Office Lead

Role Overview

Simpaisa has formalised its delivery approach in SDLC v2.0 and moved to 9-day delivery cycles across multiple squads. The Agile Coach is the person who makes that work in practice — not by enforcing process, but by coaching squads, Product Managers, and Tech Leads to internalise agile thinking and use the SDLC as an accelerant rather than a constraint.

This role sits in the Digital Office and has influence across all squads. The focus is not on ceremony compliance — it is on sustainable delivery pace, psychological safety within teams, and the ability of Simpaisa's engineering organisation to handle complex, multi-market delivery without burning out or losing quality.

Key Responsibilities

  • Coach squads on the Simpaisa SDLC v2.0 and 9-day cycle model — not just what the ceremonies are, but why they work and how to get maximum value from each one.

  • Work with Product Managers and Tech Leads to improve backlog quality, acceptance criteria discipline, and cycle planning effectiveness.

  • Facilitate retrospectives, planning sessions, and team health checks — particularly for squads experiencing friction or delivery issues.

  • Identify and help remove systemic impediments — things that slow squads down that individual squads cannot fix on their own (process gaps, tooling problems, cross-squad dependencies, unclear ownership).

  • Assess agile maturity across the engineering organisation; tailor coaching interventions accordingly.

  • Support Product Managers in working effectively with the CSNO's corridor pipeline — translating G-gate inputs into sprint-ready stories.

  • Run workshops on agile practices for new squad members and managers joining the organisation.

  • Contribute to continuous improvement of SDLC v2.0 — the process should evolve based on what squads actually experience.

  • Help the organisation scale agile practices across markets as headcount grows.

Required Skills and Experience

  • Agile frameworks: Deep practical experience with Scrum and Kanban. Familiarity with SAFe or LeSS for scaling is useful but not required — Simpaisa is squads-and-chapters, not enterprise SAFe.

  • Coaching skills: Ability to coach individuals and teams without telling them what to do. Distinguishes between coaching, mentoring, and facilitating — and knows which one the situation needs.

  • Delivery experience: Has worked in, or closely with, software engineering teams in delivery. Understands what it actually takes to ship code in a complex multi-integration environment.

  • Impediment removal: Track record of identifying and resolving systemic blockers at the process or organisational level — not just escalating them.

  • Certifications (relevant but not sufficient): CSM, CSPO, ICAgile, SAFe — valued as context, not as substitutes for practical experience.

  • Communication: Able to coach senior engineers and Product Managers who may be sceptical. Does not default to agile vocabulary when plain language is clearer.

  • Payments domain (preferred): Experience coaching teams in regulated financial services or complex integration environments is a strong advantage.

General Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business, Engineering, or a related field.

  • 5+ years of experience as an Agile Coach or Scrum Master, coaching multiple teams simultaneously.

  • Demonstrated track record of measurable improvement in delivery outcomes through coaching.

What We Offer

  • Competitive salary benchmarked to Dubai market rates.

  • An organisation that has committed to SDLC v2.0 and 9-day cycles — the frameworks exist, the coaching gap is real.

  • Direct influence on how 50+ engineers deliver software across 7 markets.

  • Visa sponsorship available for the right candidate.