SAFe Implementation Specialist with strong program management, product owner, and requirements-gathering expertise to lead the assessment, planning, implementation, and continuous improvement of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and Agile delivery practices within a division of a large federal IT portfolio.

This highly visible role requires a self-directed, hands-on change agent with demonstrated success transforming complex, disorganized, or underperforming delivery environments into structured, collaborative, and outcome-focused organizations. The SAFe Implementation Specialist will evaluate the division’s current operating model; tailor a pragmatic SAFe implementation to its needs; establish an effective planning and delivery cadence; and coach leaders, stakeholders, and delivery teams in sustainable Lean-Agile practices.

Work with the customer in implementing and maturing an Agile-at-scale operating model that aligns portfolio priorities, modernization initiatives, investment decisions, and team execution. The position will assess current practices, establish tailored SAFe and Agile processes, facilitate planning and delivery events, and develop the internal capability needed to sustain continuous improvement.

• Conduct a current-state assessment of the division’s organizational structure, people, processes, tools, governance, portfolio priorities, delivery performance, dependencies, and constraints; identify value streams, delivery bottlenecks, organizational impediments, cross-team dependencies, and opportunities to improve the flow of value.
• Develop and execute a practical, phased SAFe implementation roadmap tailored to the division’s maturity, mission, culture, delivery needs, and federal operating environment.
• Recommend an appropriate SAFe configuration, pilot scope, team structure, Agile Release Train approach, roles, ceremonies, artifacts, and governance model.
• Lead the transition from fragmented, project-centric work management to transparent, outcome-focused planning and delivery practices, and establish a sustainable implementation cadence that incorporates planning, execution, review, risk management, and continuous improvement.
• Develop reusable playbooks, templates, working agreements, process maps, training materials, standard operating procedures, and related artifacts to support adoption and scalability.
• Measure implementation progress, team adoption, and delivery outcomes; use findings to refine the approach and recommend future expansion.
• Coach division leadership, Product Management, Product Owners, Scrum Masters/Team Coaches, delivery teams, architects, Business Owners, and stakeholders on Lean-Agile principles and SAFe practices.
• Facilitate leadership alignment sessions to establish shared goals, decision rights, operating expectations, implementation priorities, and accountability; build an internal change network or Lean-Agile Center of Excellence capability to enable long-term ownership of the transformation.
• Provide practical coaching to improve backlog quality, prioritization, estimation, iteration planning, capacity planning, dependency management, risk management, delivery forecasting, and removal of organizational impediments.
• Support organizational change-management activities, including stakeholder analysis, communications, adoption planning, readiness assessments, and resistance management; foster a culture of transparency, collaboration, accountability, continuous learning, and data-informed decision-making.
• Prepare and facilitate PI Planning and other Agile planning, synchronization, review, and continuous-improvement events; coach teams in developing prioritized backlogs, clear objectives, realistic plans, and actionable improvement commitments.
• Coordinate with business, technical, program, and portfolio stakeholders to align priorities, modernization initiatives, roadmaps, demand, capacity, dependencies, and investment decisions.
• Support portfolio and system lifecycle management activities, strategic planning, modernization roadmaps, investment planning, and portfolio governance; analyze portfolio and delivery information to identify risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop and maintain plans, dashboards, status reports, executive briefings, visual materials, and decision-support materials that communicate portfolio health, delivery progress, risks, and strategic alignment.
• Collaborate with customers, stakeholders, and technical teams to gather, analyze, document, and validate functional, technical, and business requirements; maintain requirements traceability, identify business gaps, process inefficiencies, and root causes, and apply SAFe, Agile, Lean, and other best-practice methodologies to improve planning, requirements development, governance, delivery flow, operational effectiveness, customer outcomes, and process maturity.

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, information technology, project management, organizational change management, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Agile project, program, product, portfolio, or delivery management.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience leading or materially supporting SAFe, enterprise Agile, or large-scale Agile implementation activities in a government environment.
• Demonstrated experience assessing complex delivery organizations, identifying root causes of operational dysfunction, and developing actionable transformation plans.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating large-scale planning, cross-functional collaboration, leadership workshops, or PI Planning events.
• Experience coaching leaders, Product Owners, Product Managers, Scrum Masters, technical teams, and business stakeholders in Agile and Lean-Agile practices.
• Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist, and SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager certifications required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated commitment to high-quality deliverables.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance

Preferred:

• SAFe Practice Consultant, Release Train Engineer, Lean Portfolio Management, or comparable advanced SAFe certification strongly preferred.
• PMP certification highly desired.
• Experience with management of information systems, including financial, accounting, budget, purchasing, or related business systems, preferred.