Head of Scrum Master

Location: Cambourne andamp; Lutterworth (Hybrid - 3 days onsite, 2 days remote)
Contract: Permanent
Working Pattern: Monday-Friday, 37 hours per week
Travel: UK andamp; occasional international travel required

About the Role

Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd, a global leader in cutting-edge technology, is looking to appoint an experienced and inspirational Head of Scrum Master. This is a senior leadership role, offering the opportunity to shape and drive agile transformation across a highly innovative Randamp;D environment within Electron Microscopy.

Reporting into senior leadership and operating as part of the wider Electron Microscopy Randamp;D Management Team, you will lead, develop, and empower a team of Scrum Masters while driving consistency, maturity, and excellence in agile delivery across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership andamp; Management

• Provide line management for the Scrum Master team within Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd, with dotted-line responsibility across related global entities.
• Lead by example, coaching and developing high-performing Scrum Masters to deliver against ambitious technology and product roadmaps.
• Partner closely with senior stakeholders to align agile practices with organisational strategy and objectives.
• Set clear objectives, monitor performance through defined KPIs and OPIs, and ensure accountability across the team.
• Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing Scrum Master function through coaching, mentoring, and training.
• Foster a collaborative culture, proactively resolving conflicts and breaking down silos.
• Conduct annual appraisals, set development objectives, and manage departmental budgets in line with company policy.
• Act as deputy for the Head of Development when required.

Agile Transformation andamp; Delivery

• Champion Agile and Scrum practices across the organisation, embedding a consistent and effective approach to delivery.
• Design and deliver training sessions and workshops for teams and stakeholders.
• Establish, monitor, and continuously improve agile standards and frameworks across multiple teams.
• Track and report on agile maturity, delivery effectiveness, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Facilitate organisational-level retrospectives and implement data-driven improvements.
• Support scaled agile delivery where applicable (e.g. SAFe, LeSS).
• Drive cross-team coordination to ensure alignment on shared goals and dependencies.
• Lead and support cultural change associated with agile transformation programmes, including major change initiatives such as the CTE programme.

Operational Planning andamp; Development

• Plan and coordinate team activities to deliver objectives within agreed timescales, budgets, and resource constraints.
• Support Scrum Masters in deepening domain, technical, and methodological knowledge.
• Mentor apprentices and students within the Scrum Master team.

Quality, Safety andamp; Compliance

• Ensure compliance with company procedures, quality standards (ISO 9001 andamp; 14001), and regulatory requirements.
• Implement and track actions arising from internal quality audits.
• Stay informed of regulatory develop