Agile Coach

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Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS) is focused on serving our retail and corporate clients in South Africa and further developing our strategic advantages in the South African market.

Sanlam Life and Savings consists of the following business units Retail Mass, Corporate, Risk and Savings, Glacier and various business enabling functions. The Sanlam Life and Savings Office provides strategic direction, coordination and support to the four clusters, as well as performing governance oversight that includes assurance provided by second line of defense functions in SLS, to enable us to meet our business objectives.

Job Purpose:

The Agile Coach is responsible for building, enabling, and scaling organisational agility across Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS) by strengthening the enterprise delivery system.

Operating as part of the Lean Agile Centre of Excellence (LACE) within the Office of the CTO, the role partners with teams, leaders, and value streams to embed Agile, product, and flow-based ways of working that improve delivery effectiveness, predictability, and value outcomes.

The Agile Coach operates beyond individual teams to:

• Shape and embed enterprise guardrails, patterns, and standards

• Drive system-level improvements across Technology and Business

• Enable the shift from project-based to product- and value-oriented delivery

The role acts as a change agent and system enabler, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, evidence-based decision-making, and sustainable organisational capability uplift

Role Requirements:

Output/Core Tasks:

Capability Development & Guardrails

• Define, evolve, and maintain enterprise Agile guardrails (e.g., team design, product ownership, ways of working)
• Develop reusable patterns and playbooks (e.g., lean portfolio practices, value stream alignment)
• Ensure guardrails are practical, adaptable, and outcome-focused, avoiding compliance-heavy implementation

Implementation & Enablement

• Support pilots and targeted interventions to embed new ways of working
• Enable teams and leaders to adopt and adapt Agile and product practices effectively

Coaching Across Levels

• Coach delivery teams on Agile practices, flow optimisation, and continuous improvement
• Coach leaders and stakeholders on:
  o Product thinking
  o Outcome-based decision-making
  o Operating model evolution
• Enable behavioural and mindset shifts required for organisational agility

Flow & Delivery Improvement

• Diagnose and address systemic constraints (e.g., dependencies, WIP overload, slow decision cycles)
• Improve flow metrics, including:
  o Cycle time
  o Throughput
  o Predictability
• Promote visibility of work and data-driven decision-making
• Align delivery practices with portfolio and value stream priorities
• Support the transition to product-aligned, long-lived teams
• Influence organisational design and interaction models across Business and Technology
• Embed Lean Startup and Build–Measure–Learn practices
• Facilitate retrospectives and improvement loops at team, programme, and enterprise levels
• Promote a culture of experimentation, learning, and evidence-based improvement

Community & Capability Growth

• Build and enable Communities of Practice across Agile, Product, and Delivery disciplines
• Support training, onboarding, and capability development journeys
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing and organisational learning

Delivery Support (Where Required)

• Provide coaching support to in-flight initiatives and strategic programmes
• Improve delivery execution without becoming embedded as a delivery resource
• Ensure Agile practices drive meaningful outcomes, not mechanical compliance

Experience

• 3–5+ years’ experience in Agile Coaching, delivery transformation, or similar roles
• Proven experience working in large, complex organisations
• Demonstrated ability to scale Agile practices beyond individual teams
• Experience coaching across multiple levels, including:
  o Delivery teams
  o Senior stakeholders and leadership
• Strong experience in:
  o Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, Disciplined Agile)
  o Flow-based delivery and continuous improvement practices
• Track record of…