Scrum Master

About the University of Amsterdam

Are you the bridge builder who combines both organizational and social skills? Can you lead a team to optimal performance? Are you looking for a challenge within a complex organization where your impact is of great significance? Then the role of Scrum Master for our Operations teams, serving the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), is perfect for you.

Working at UvA

As a Scrum Master, you fulfill a crucial role as a driving force within the teams responsible for the management and development of the digital landscape of both the UvA and the HvA. You organize and lead team meetings and ensure that each team member can function optimally. You also co-own the achievement of the intended team results. As a coach, you support the product team in result-oriented and multidisciplinary work and guide team members to bring out the best in themselves and others.

You will serve as Scrum Master for two separate Operations teams: the Linux & Storage Operations team and the Windows & Virtualization Operations team. These product teams, within the Platform Engineering department, are responsible for both the management and further development of the platforms for both institutions. In a complex organization with a diverse application landscape, you will facilitate the team process in a challenging and engaging manner. The main goal of the product teams is to ensure that the basic ICT infrastructure optimally meets the needs of various users, such as lecturers, students, support staff, and educational policymakers. This requires close collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

What you will do as a Scrum Master

• Promoting effective, efficient, and enjoyable collaboration within both teams.
• Organizing and facilitating Scrum events and team meetings.
• Collaborating with domain leads and Product Owners for realistic and transparent planning.
• Driving the actual delivery of intended results by the teams.
• Identifying and removing bottlenecks and obstacles within and outside the teams.
• Coaching the teams and individual team members.
• Organizing team development initiatives in collaboration with HR.
• Maintaining contact with fellow Scrum Masters to enhance organizational effectiveness.

What we ask of you

We are looking for an experienced professional who:

• Has at least a higher professional education (hbo) degree and several years of demonstrable experience as a Scrum Master in larger and/or complex organizations.
• Applies a flexible approach to Scrum, with the ability to assess what truly adds value for the teams and the organization.
• Possesses excellent communication skills and mastery of the Dutch language, with an emphasis on open, clear, and transparent communication.
• Is patient and sensitive, with strong listening skills and an open attitude towards input from the teams.
• Is capable of constructively handling and resolving conflicts.
• Has strong organizational and structured working methods.
• Knowledge of Jira is a plus.

What we offer you

A dynamic and creative work environment where you get a lot of room for individual input and where your expertise is valued!

This position fits the Project Leader 1 job profile, corresponding to salary scale 10. The salary ranges from a minimum of €3,546 to a maximum of €5,538 gross per month for a full-time employment (38 hours per week), exclusive of holiday allowance (8%) and an end-of-year bonus (8.3%), and is dependent on competencies and experience. The Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities applies.

The UvA offers an extensive package of secondary employment conditions, including:

• 29 vacation days for full-time employment & extra vacation days between Christmas and New Year's.
• Mobile phone and a laptop.
• Internet and home working allowance.
• Pension accrual with the ABP.
• Flexibility to combine work and private life, with the possibility of working from home.
• By working two hours more per week than your contracted hours, you receive 96 compensatory hours annually. This also applies if you are part-time.
• The UvA also offers excellent study and development opportunities and encourages employees to continuously professionalize.
• You can participate in open UvA courses, earning up to 30 study points per year.

This is a full-time position for 32–40 hours per week. We offer a temporary employment contract for one year with the prospect of an indefinite employment contract. Your workplace will be Hogehilweg 21, Amsterdam.

Your place at UvA

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) deliver high-quality education and research. Without ICT, the 90,000 students and 10,000 employees of the HvA and UvA would be nowhere. It is no coincidence that over 300 professionals work at the central ICT Services (ICTS) department. From providing ICT resources to maintaining technical infrastructure, and from developing apps to user support via the service desk: our task package is extremely broad. So you can go in many directions.

We work on complex technical challenges such as Cloud computing, big data, and machine learning. And when it comes to cybersecurity, our ICT organization is nationally leading. What makes your work even more fascinating is that you contribute to education and research. In this, we strive for the best combination of innovation and quality. In short, you stay up-to-date and have a job with social impact.

Platform Engineering Department

You will work in the Platform Engineering department within the ICT-Basic Services domain of the combined ICT service (ICT Services) for UvA and HvA. The activities within the department are organized into two operational product teams, which manage a virtualized Server Park and Storage landscape.

Both teams work according to a Scrum methodology tailored to their needs and use the Service Management Platform ServiceNow and/or Jira with a Kanban board. Although the teams are similar in composition, they are not identical and still differ in Agile maturity. You will work closely with the Product Owners, senior consultants, and of course, the team members. Both teams average 10-15 employees in size.

The Platform Engineering department within the ICT-Basic Services domain consists of two teams:

• The Windows & Virtualization Team currently consists of 13 employees and primarily focuses on the management and further development of the on-premise Windows server & Virtualization infrastructure. Currently, almost our entire server park is virtualized on an ESXi/VMWare platform. Work is being done on an organization-wide vision on virtualization, which means that in the very near future, other virtualization methodologies may play an important role within the team. Furthermore, more and more of our on-premise services are moving towards Cloud environments on Azure and AWS.
• The Linux & Storage Team currently consists of 12 employees and primarily focuses on the management and further development of the on-premise Linux server park and the Storage infrastructure.

The department is led by the Head of Platform Engineering ICTS. The atmosphere within the department is open and informal.

Key skills/competency

• Agile Methodologies
• Scrum Framework
• Team Facilitation
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Conflict Resolution
• Stakeholder Management
• Jira
• Communication Skills
• Organizational Skills
• IT Operations Management