Agile Team Lead (Defence Sector)

Join Kainos and shape the future. At Kainos, we’re problem solvers, innovators, and collaborators - driven by a shared mission to create real impact. We believe in a people-first culture, where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your contributions truly make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of a diverse, ambitious team that celebrates creativity and collaboration.

As a Team Lead at Kainos, you will be responsible for leading an agile team to deliver high quality solutions that meet client and user needs. You will empower and support your team to perform well, learn and grow in a manner that is consistent with Kainos company values. You will foresee and remove blockers and effectively manage risks and issues at a team level. You will work closely with other Agile Team Leads and stakeholders to ensure your team is working on the right things at the right time under the support and guidance of a Delivery Manager.

Minimum requirements:

• Active SC clearance is mandatory.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a similar role with UK defence sector organizations is mandatory.
• Proven experience as a senior scrum master OR a combined role of a project manager, who is also a hands-on scrum master for UK defence sector organizations.
• Minimum 3 years of demonstrable success delivering bespoke software projects from scratch, using agile methodologies (Kanban, Scrum, SAFe, etc.) for external customers.
• Strong experience in customer-facing projects with UK defence sector organizations - syncs and reporting, presentations, board meetings, workshops, upscaling opportunities.
• Strong managerial skills, both direct and indirect.
• Strong commercial awareness - working with financial teams, understanding and basic reporting of costs, preferably working under a budget plan of £5M or more.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Highly flexible (including a willingness to work away from home base).

The successful candidate will:

• Establish ways of working to enable an agile team to plan, forecast and deliver against a product backlog.
• Act as a role model for collaborative behaviours, agile values and professionalism.
• Lead retrospectives and continuous improvement initiatives; applying previous knowledge, experience, and industry best practices in agile delivery.
• Put people first & develop others – You’ll manage, coach and develop a small number of staff, with a focus on managing employee performance.
• Actively manage the performance of team members, including the stewardship of improvement plans where necessary.
• Provide data, forecasts and progress updates to inform planning initiatives.
• Facilitate workshops and discussions to understand and effectively capture requirements to achieve a joint understanding of needs.
• Establish and maintain constructive and collaborative relationships with the client, other suppliers and third-party stakeholders.
• Ensure stakeholders can access current and accurate data on the status of the team’s delivery and that technical quality standards are followed.
• Support the Delivery Manager in ensuring projects deliver the agreed outcomes within budget.
• Be highly flexible (including willingness to work away from home base).

Other Requirements:

• Persuasive and effective communicator with strong negotiating skills.
• Possess a solid understanding and strong practical experience of agile delivery in software development projects.
• Evidence of leading continuous improvement initiatives.
• We are passionate about developing people – a demonstrated ability in managing, coaching and developing members of your team and wider community.
• Experience of facilitating workshops and discussions.
• Ability to forge effective working relationships with stakeholders.
• Considerable experience in a relevant technical environment.
• Maintain effective and efficient delivery from your team during periods of remote working.

Desirable:

• Good understanding of technology, digital services and trends.
• Have experience of working with user research, design and data analytics expertise.
• Ability to demonstrate commercial awareness, particularly in client-supplier and multi-supplier environments, and an appreciation of project-level financials.
• Understanding of a range of planning and reporting methods common to project delivery.
• Scrum Master or similar Agile delivery certification.

Embracing our differences

At Kainos, we believe in the power of diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to building a team that is as diverse as the world we live in, where everyone is valued, respected, and given an equal chance to thrive. We actively seek out talented people from all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other characteristic that makes them who they are. We also believe every candidate deserves a level playing field. Our friendly talent acquisition team is here to support you every step of the way, so if you require any accommodations or adjustments, we encourage you to reach out. We understand that everyone's journey is different, and by having a private conversation we can ensure that our recruitment process is tailored to your needs.