IT Operations & Delivery Excellence Lead

About Zendesk & The Role

At Zendesk, we build software designed to improve customer relationships, helping businesses create meaningful, engaging, and seamless interactions. To support this mission internally, our Office of the CIO team is looking for an IT Operations & Delivery Excellence Lead to drive operational efficiency and delivery velocity across our IT organization.

Embedded within the Strategy & Operations team, this is a strategic leadership role focused on driving the adoption of modern Agile mindsets and practices. In this role, you will partner with senior executives, engineering leaders, and cross-functional teams to champion our "How We Work" (HWW) framework, scale delivery practices, and integrate modern AI capabilities into our daily workflows. If you are an experienced change agent who excels at driving framework adoption, optimizing modern tooling, and fostering team empowerment, we want to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Cross-Functional Alignment & Strategy: Drive the overarching strategy for cross-functional delivery alignment, bridging traditional project management approaches and Agile delivery through a cohesive enterprise framework.
• AI Integration & Delivery Evolution: Drive the integration of AI into our agile delivery practices, leveraging Atlassian Rovo and internal enterprise AI tools to automate routine workflows, optimize knowledge discovery, and accelerate cycle time to value.
• Framework Maturity: Implement and guide teams in scaling Agile frameworks, with a specific focus on establishing and maturing a robust Kanban framework alongside existing Scrum and SAFe practices.
• HWW Framework & Knowledge Management: Support the adoption of our operating model framework by measuring Agile adoption and expanding the reach of "how we work" (HWW) more broadly across the organization; own and maintain the master Confluence site as the single source of truth.
• Training Ownership: Own, maintain, and evolve the end-to-end "how we work" training program and content, in addition to directly delivering tailored training sessions and workshops.
• Targeted Coaching: Provide dedicated, day-to-day coaching to Scrum Masters to elevate their practice, while also supporting Product Owners/Managers, Engineers, QA, and BSAs to deepen overall Agile methodology execution.
• Atlassian Tooling Leadership: Lead the strategic evolution of our Atlassian suite to optimize team performance, partnering closely with our Jira Application Lead to align tooling directly with Agile practices.
• Metrics & Maturity Assessments: Establish and monitor value-based metrics and change-adoption KPIs to track transformation progress, improve delivery predictability, and remove systemic impediments.
• Executive & Stakeholder Engagement: Engage directly with senior executives and functional leaders to align transformation goals with organizational strategy, fostering shared ownership, transparency, and cultural adaptability.

What You Bring to the Role

• 8+ years of experience leading Agile transformations, with a strong background in Agile coaching, delivery leadership, and organizational change.
• Proven success transitioning organizations from waterfall or hybrid models to Agile ways of working, including SDLC integration and mindset shift.
• Deep knowledge of Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe or equivalent), and experience scaling Agile practices across large, distributed teams.
• Strong hands-on experience with Agile delivery tools, especially Jira, and expertise in using data/metrics to drive transparency and continuous improvement.
• Exceptional communication, coaching, and facilitation skills, with a proven ability to influence and align diverse stakeholders — including executives.
• Comfortable working in dynamic, evolving environments with cross-functional partners in IT, product, and operations.
• ICAgile Certified Professional in Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC) or Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC). This directly supports their responsibility for the day-to-day coaching of Scrum Masters.
• Certified Scrum Master.
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in or alongside Strategy & Operations and Product to drive Agile transformation across multiple functions.
• Professional Scrum Master (PSM III).
• Demonstrated thought leadership in Agile communities (e.g., internal forums, conferences, publications, communities of practice).
• Agile certifications (e.g., SAFe Program Consultant, ICAgile Certified Professional, or similar) are a plus but not required.

Join Us!

In this role, you will be instrumental in helping Zendesk scale its delivery framework to meet the demands of our fast-moving, customer-first SaaS business. This is a high-visibility opportunity to champion meaningful operational change and leave a lasting impact on how our enterprise teams deliver value. If you are an experienced change agent who thrives on optimizing complex workflows in dynamic environments, we would love to hear from you.

Interested in knowing what we do in the community? Check out the Zendesk Neighbor Foundation to learn more about how we engage with, and provide support to, our local communities.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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