Scrum Master / Agile Delivery Lead

Are you ready to drive agile change at one of the UK's leading universities?

The University of Manchester invites applications for the position of Scrum Master within the Evolve Integrations Project, an initiative delivering essential new capabilities to enhance how we connect with and serve our community. This full-time, fixed-term role is vital to ensuring the successful delivery of project outcomes by implementing agile methodologies, tools, and techniques to optimise workflows through ongoing improvement cycles.

We are seeking a Scrum Master with a proven track record of excelling in dynamic environments, embracing complex challenges, and achieving significant results. The successful candidate will collaborate effectively with staff, contractors, and consultants, pragmatically applying agile practices while adapting to shifting priorities and diverse working styles. While sprints, retrospectives, and ceremonies form part of the methodology, the emphasis remains on flexibility, facilitation, and achieving outcome-focused delivery.

Who we’re looking for

• As an adaptable Scrum Master, you excel in dynamic and complex environments. You demonstrate the ability to adapt effectively and facilitate change.

• You possess an in-depth understanding of agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.) and know how to apply them with pragmatism and purpose.

• You work well with both people and processes, focusing on mentoring, clear communication, and removing obstacles. Your role goes beyond standard routines to empower teams and deliver value efficiently. When working with stakeholders unfamiliar with agile, you provide guidance and ongoing support to keep projects moving forward.

• Your approach prioritises practical outcomes, rapid learning, and continuous improvement over rigid adherence to process frameworks.

• You efficiently identify potential obstacles and take proactive measures to address them.

• You possess the ability to analyse key metrics, identify trends, and promptly deliver insightful reports.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a pragmatic, adaptable Scrum Master who thrives in complexity and who has:

• Experience leading mixed teams (staff, contractors, consultants) in complex, high-stakes projects.
• Proven ability to adapt agile practices to fit real-world delivery, not just theory.
• Confidence engaging stakeholders who may be new to agile, building understanding and alignment.
• Coached mixed teams and building buy-in with non-technical stakeholders.
• Confident with agile tools (Jira, Confluence, Planner, Monday.com).
• Knowledge of cloud-based technologies and platform-as-a-service (desirable).
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM) (desirable).
• A pragmatic, outcome-focused mindset

Campus presence: you can ideally commit to being on-site at least 1 day a week initially, enabling high-touch collaboration and team cohesion. If you’re excited by complexity, thrive on experimentation, and want to shape agile delivery in a transformative University programme, this is the role for you.

Why join us?

Be part of a world-class university with bold digital ambitions. Work on projects that have real impact on teaching, research, and student experience. Join a collaborative IT culture where your ideas and growth are valued.

What you’ll get in return:

• Generous holiday allowance, excellent pension scheme, and staff wellbeing support.

Inclusion matters here

We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity of thought and background, and we know teams are stronger when they reflect the communities we serve. If you’re excited by this opportunity but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply. If you require this advert or the job description in any other format please contact recruitment.services@manchester.ac.uk

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.

Our University is positive about flexible working – you can find out more here

Hybrid working arrangements may be considered.

Please be aware that due to the number of applications we are unfortunately not able to provide individual feedback on your application.

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.

Any recruitment enquiries from recruitment agencies should be directed to People.Recruitment@manchester.ac.uk.

Any CV’s submitted by a recruitment agency will be considered a gift.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: IT Resource Team

Email: it.resource@manchester.ac.uk

General enquiries:

Email: People.recruitment@manchester.ac.uk