Agile Coach/Scrum Master

About FlyAkeed:

FlyAkeed is an online platform that helps people book flights and hotels easily. We started in 2017 and are based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Our travel solution simplifies the process of planning and handling work-related travel.

Highlights:

Current funding stage: Series A

FlyAkeed is supported by: PIF subsidiary Sanabil Investments, Elm, Artal Capital, Alrajhi Partners.

We are looking for a talented Scrum Master to join our dynamic team at FlyAkeed. In this role, you'll champion agile practices across different squads. You'll work with an external consultant during November-December to learn our playbook, then take ownership of long-term coaching and enforcement. This is not a "checkbox" Scrum Master role. We need someone who can teach teams new to disciplined agile, navigate Middle Eastern business culture, challenge PMs and Tech Leads when needed, and build credibility through results.

Responsibilities

Ceremony Facilitation (40%)

• Facilitate all scrum ceremonies for assigned squads (daily standup, backlog refinement, sprint planning, sprint review, retrospective)
• Ensure ceremony discipline and attendance (not optional)
• Time-box effectively and keep meetings productive
• Adapt to remote team dynamics across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Philippines
  

Coaching & Capability Building (30%)

• Coach Product Managers on backlog management and story writing
• Train teams on estimation techniques (story points, planning poker, velocity)
• Teach Tech Leads to delegate effectively and reduce bottlenecks
• Build team understanding of agile principles
• Conduct training refreshers as team composition changes
• Develop internal agile champions
  

Blocker Removal & Team Protection (20%)

• Identify and remove impediments blocking progress
• Shield teams from interruptions and mid-sprint scope changes
• Escalate priority conflicts to Product Leadership
• Facilitate cross-squad dependency coordination
• Protect sprint commitments through buffer capacity management
  

Standard Enforcement (10%)

• Enforce playbook standards (requirements, not suggestions)
• Monitor sprint metrics (velocity, completion rate, quality, predictability)
• Identify process breakdowns and drive improvements
• Facilitate conflict resolution between PMs and Tech Leads
• Ensure Definition of Done met before stories marked complete

Requirements

Must Have:

• 5+ years as Scrum Master or Agile Coach across multiple teams
• Agile transformation experience - teaching teams new to disciplined agile, not just maintaining practices
• Strong facilitation skills - run effective meetings, keep people engaged
• Coaching mindset - patient teacher who builds capability
• Conflict resolution - comfortable with difficult conversations
• Remote team experience - distributed teams across time zones
• Fluent Arabic and English - working language for meetings and documentation

Strongly Preferred:

• Technical background (former developer, QA, tech lead)
• Agile certification (CSM, PSM, SAFe, or equivalent)
• Jira administration and reporting experience
• Travel, fintech, or B2B SaaS industry experience
• Startup or scale-up experience