Agile Transformation SME

Location: Remote (In the U.S.) | U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (Required)

About the Role

Sprezzatura Management Consulting is seeking a senior Enterprise Agile Transformation Subject Matter Expert (SME) to join the company’s Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE). The SME will serve as an internal Agile consultant and transformation leader, deployed to strategic programs to improve delivery governance, planning, execution, predictability, transparency, and measurable customer outcomes.

This is a transformation leadership role requiring deep SAFe expertise, organizational change management capability, strong executive presence, and the ability to establish, communicate, and sustain agreed delivery standards across complex organizations. The Agile Transformation SME will spend approximately 75% of their time on a large enterprise-wide program supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs, entering an active transformation effort to redesign PI Planning, strengthen Scrum Master alignment, improve Agile governance, and consolidate Jira structures. The remaining capacity will support Sprezzatura's company-wide LACE, cross-contract delivery standards, and other engagements.

This position reports directly to the Director of Agile Delivery and Process Automation and operates as a member of Sprezzatura’s LACE. The SME will work in close partnership with program managers, delivery leadership, and customer stakeholders, serving as the functional Agile authority on assigned programs, lead trainer and coach, and a key contributor to the company's Lean-Agile governance infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Initial Strategic Assignment: Enterprise IT Program Transformation (~75%)

• Own full RTE-level authority for the program’s Agile Release Train (ART), assuming the role through a structured knowledge transfer from the current transitioning RTE.
• Lead and continuously improve the integrated Agile planning cadence, PI Planning activities, cross-team dependency management, and delivery coordination across designated value streams (Salesforce, Microsoft, Pega, Integration, and SaaS).
• Partner with program and value-stream leadership to establish clear Agile roles, decision rights, escalation paths, planning calendars, and standards accounting for Sprezzatura, VA, System Integrators, Product Owners, and other delivery partners.
• Finalize and execute the PI Planning redesign, including event structure, readiness criteria, planning inputs, breakout facilitation, dependency management, risk identification, confidence vote, and VA stakeholder briefing.
• Ensure PI Planning readiness includes a prioritized Program Epic Backlog, documented requirements and dependencies, capacity and constraint information, architecture and roadmap inputs, and delivery of required planning artifacts in accordance with contractual and customer deadlines.
• Establish objective readiness and success criteria for each PI Planning cycle, including backlog readiness, stakeholder alignment, dependency visibility, achievable team plans, risk ownership, PI objectives, and defined methods for measuring results throughout the increment.
• Coach and develop the Scrum Master cohort, strengthen Scrum Master alignment within value streams, define consistent performance expectations, and establish an effective cross-program community of practice for coaching, problem solving, standards adoption, and continuous improvement.
• Assess Scrum Master capability and program needs; recommend role assignments, development plans, training, mentoring, and organizational adjustments in partnership with program and functional leadership.
• Partner with the Program Manager, Deputy Program Managers, and delivery leaders to build constructive relationships with VA stakeholders and delivery partners; establish documented Agile working agreements, decision paths, escalation procedures, and governance records in VA-approved repositories.
• Influence customer and partner behavior through evidence, transparency, facilitation, and agreed governance rather than relying on positional authority.
• Lead program-level operations: implement the Jira consolidation from 21 projects to four value-stream-aligned boards, enforce intake governance, maintain program health metrics including ART Predictability scores, and train the full program on SAFe principles.
• Establish and maintain meaningful program health measures such as PI objective achievement, predictability, throughput, capacity, cycle time, flow, dependency aging, risk resolution, milestone performance, backlog quality, and customer outcomes.
• Establish and sustain backlog governance supporting continuous grooming, prioritization, elaboration of business, technical, and nonfunctional requirements, and traceability among program epics, epics, stories, dependencies, defects, and PI roadmaps.
• Establish a transparent process for evaluating and integrating new or changing VA priorities during a PI, including impact analysis for scope, capacity, schedule, dependencies, risks, and existing commitments, followed by documented customer decisions and replanning as appropriate.
• Lead Inspect and Adapt activities, retrospectives, root-cause analysis, corrective-action planning, and follow-through to ensure lessons learned result in measurable changes to delivery performance.
• Build sustainable internal capability by transferring knowledge, developing program leaders and practitioners, documenting standards, and reducing long-term dependence on individual Agile experts.

Company-Wide Agile Center of Excellence (25%)

• Support the Director of Agile Delivery and Process Automation in maturing and operating Sprezzatura's LACE, including company-wide Agile delivery SOPs, Scrum Master coaching infrastructure, and cross-contract delivery standards, under COO-level sponsorship.
• Conduct Agile maturity assessments on Specialized Services and other Sprezzatura contracts, producing evidence-based findings reports and prioritized remediation roadmaps.
• Design and deliver the Sprezzatura Delivery Academy and support the ongoing operation of the company OKR/CFR system, including objective-setting, KR development, and the Conversation, Feedback, and Recognition cadence.
• Support other Sprezzatura contracts as directed, advising on Agile governance and coaching teams through transformation milestones.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 18+ years of relevant experience, including demonstrated leadership of large-scale Agile transformations in complex federal or enterprise environments.
• 10+ years of experience in senior program-level Agile leadership roles (RTE, Agile Coach, or Transformation Lead) on programs of 200+ people across multiple teams.
• Current SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) certification. SAFe RTE strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end PI Planning events at scale, including pre-event design, cross-team dependency mapping, breakout facilitation, confidence vote management, and post-event I&A.
• Proven track record of assessing underperforming or inconsistent delivery environments, identifying structural and behavioral impediments, building an evidence-based case for change, and implementing improvements while protecting ongoing customer delivery.
• Experience designing and standing up Lean-Agile Centers of Excellence or equivalent governance bodies, including charter development, standards ownership, Scrum Master coaching infrastructure, and transformational backlog management.
• Demonstrated experience developing and delivering SAFe training to large, diverse audiences including technical teams, product owners, program leadership, and government stakeholders.
• Strong VA or federal agency stakeholder management experience, including ability to align government clients on Agile standards, manage verbal override attempts diplomatically, and build constructive VA champion relationships.
• Prior experience in building a comprehensive digital workplace with customer experience focused outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience developing strategic roadmaps, measurable milestones, transformation backlogs, and execution plans, and aligning team-level delivery to program objectives and customer outcomes.
• Experience conducting Agile maturity assessments and producing evidence-based findings reports, root cause analysis, and prioritized improvement roadmaps.
• Advanced proficiency with Jira in large, multi-team environments, including project and board design, workflow configuration, permission and governance models, hierarchy and traceability standards, dashboards, reporting, data quality, consolidation planning, and Scrum and Kanban operating models.
• Experience developing, implementing, and governing enterprise-wide Agile SOPs, playbooks, and delivery standards applicable across multiple contracts or business units.
• Excellent communication skills across all levels, including team-level coaching, executive briefings, government client management, and written documentation. Ability to lead with evidence, not opinion.
• Demonstrated organizational change-management experience, including stakeholder analysis, communication planning, adoption measurement, resistance management, leadership alignment, and sustainment.
• Experience defining and using Agile and flow metrics (predictability, throughput, cycle time, capacity, work in progress, dependency aging, backlog health, and objective achievement) to diagnose performance and guide decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to balance framework discipline with contractual requirements, customer constraints, operational work, and the needs of teams using Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid delivery models.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a VA suitability determination/Public Trust designation and any other customer-required access or clearance associated with assigned engagements.

Preferred Experience

• Supporting VA DTC, OIT, or other VA digital modernization programs.
• Designing and facilitating OKR/CFR operating systems at the program or company level.
• Familiarity with federal security and authorization processes (ATO, SECURS, CAM/ServiceNow transitions).
• Navigating multi-vendor, multi-prime contractor delivery environments with shared milestone accountability.
• Background in professional services or government contracting firm environments, including understanding of how delivery standards translate across contracts with different clients, scopes, and team compositions.

Working Conditions

• Standard business hours are Monday through Friday. Occasional extended or weekend hours may be required based on operational needs.
• Periodic travel to customers, company and program events as required.
• Must have reliable internet service that allows for effective telecommuting.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $190,000 to $230,000 annually, depending on geographic work location, relevant experience, skills, education, internal equity, security clearance, and contract requirements.

Benefits

Sprezzatura offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and professional development opportunities.