Junior Scrum Master

Overview

Askuity is a Toronto-based retail analytics software company operating as a division within The Home Depot (THD). Through our supplier analytics program, Askuity’s mission is to enable suppliers and merchants at The Home Depot to make profitable, data-driven decisions and drive real-time execution. This role requires strong relationship-building skills and a dedication to applying continuous learning to enhance team performance and engagement. The Scrum Master is a critical, hands-on role responsible for ensuring the successful, on-time delivery of technology projects within our Agile process. The role combines the standard responsibilities of a Scrum Master focused on enabling our team members to do what each does best. As the primary liaison for our cross-functional feature teams, you will ensure all deliverables adhere to Askuity’s best practices and quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead scrum ceremonies: Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Sprint Reviews/Demos, Retrospectives, and Backlog Refinements, ensuring they are effective and adhere to the team’s working agreements.
• Proactively identify and remove impediments to help teams achieve sprint goals, coordinating with stakeholders and other teams as needed.
• Delivery: facilitate development planning to refine milestones, visualize progress and manage expectations.
• Assess risks, implement mitigation strategies, and adjust schedules as needed.
• Act as the primary point of contact for stakeholders (Product Management, Development Managers, etc.) ensuring alignment with business objectives and adherence to quality standards.
• Apply Askuity’s development process best practices and maintain required artifacts throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Stakeholder management: promote a culture of continuous improvement within the teams and help the teams implement changes.
• Foster and support the whole team by identifying and removing obstacles that hinder their progress.
• Observe and understand factors impacting team performance and velocity with the goal of continuously improving and applying learnings to future sprints.
• Assist in managing the product backlog, clarify backlog items, and facilitate effective communication between the Product Manager and the team.
• Leadership: support and facilitate interaction within the team and with key Askuity stakeholders; participate in THD agile community meetups to contribute to improvements in agile practices.
• Help the team understand the theory, practices, and values of the Scrum framework; build strong relationships with team members, business, and cross-functional partners; coordinate with Scrum Masters, Product Managers, and stakeholders to ensure alignment and collaboration.
• Product/Business Knowledge: report on key metrics such as progress, velocity, risks, and issues to ensure stakeholders have clear visibility; identify and present the most relevant metrics to support decision-making.

Qualifications

• Minimum Education: bachelor’s degree in computer science or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum Years Of Work Experience: 1 – 3 years of experience as a Certified Scrum Master, or internal Home Depot Technology experience.
• Certifications: Industry-recognized Scrum Master certification (e.g., Certified Scrum Master (CSM)).
• Other Requirements/Assets: Knowledgeable with JIRA, Confluence, and other scrum tools and techniques; previous leadership and/or project management experience; previous experience in retail industry.

Skills & Competencies

• Agile Principles, Kanban and Scrum knowledge; strong servant leadership, communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.
• Strong facilitation and organizational skills; proficient documentation and presentation skills.
• Action Oriented; Collaborates; Communicates Effectively; Drives Results; Customer Focus.