Steal This Scrum Master Job Description Template (Reviewed by Experts)

Too many Scrum Master job descriptions read like Agile parodies. “Wanted: Scrum Masters to ‘hold the team accountable’ and ‘manage projects within time and budget.'” 😬

Such job ads turn Scrum satire into tragedy. Well-intentioned Scrum Masters join organizations that talk Agile but walk traditional project management. Companies that want an agile transformation often alienate potential hires with job descriptions that misrepresent or completely misunderstand the role.

You can avoid this trap by stealing our Scrum Master job description template, peer-reviewed by several Agile professionals with decades of combined experience.

[Company name] is looking for a Scrum Master who will help [brief description of the type of team they’ll be joining and the kind of product or service they’ll work on].

We believe being a good Scrum Master is part science, part art. Guiding teams in their Scrum practice to elevate their performance doesn’t happen by passing an exam and learning rules. We emphasize a balance of soft skills and a deep understanding of Agile methodologies as requirements, while hard measurables like certifications are desirable and optional extras.

Job description template peer reviewed by:

We’ve vetted the template so you can feel confident posting it without reading the rest of this article. But the more you understand our template and the Scrum Master role, the better you can tailor your job posting to find your ideal candidate.

In the following sections, we go into some nuances of the Scrum Master position so you can optimize your recruitment process and strategy.

Like Agile itself, this template is adaptable, providing a foundation you can build upon depending on your unique situation. Are you a startup or an enterprise? Are you looking for a Scrum Master for a newly-formed team or a veteran group? These factors will influence what your ideal candidate looks like.

Feel free to add, remove, or shift elements between the ‘Requirements,’ ‘Skills,’ and ‘Desirables’ sections to match your needs.

Tips for tailoring the template:

By tailoring your job description in these ways, you set clear expectations and make the position more appealing, attracting applicants who are a good fit for both the role and your company.

You don’t need a Scrum Master certification yourself to feel confident hiring one. But a deeper understanding of the role helps you tailor your job posting, connect with the right candidates, and weed out the less qualified ones.

This excellent graphic maps out the general contours of a great Scrum Master!

These are a Scrum Master’s seven primary responsibilities in serving other members of their team:

Let’s briefly experience a hypothetical day in the life of a Scrum Master to get a better appreciation for the role.

Imagine the Scrum Master starting their day not with a to-do list but a “to-serve” list. List in hand, they join a virtual call or walk into a meeting room fully prepared to focus and facilitate.

The Daily Standup meeting kicks off promptly, a rhythmic event that brings the developers together to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master ensures everyone is heard and that the team zeros in on what matters: looking ahead 24 hours and tackling impediments.

A developer mentions a pesky roadblock that’s slowing them down. The Scrum Master responds with a question: “Why is that an impediment?” This prompt encourages the developer to analyze the problem and find a solution.

But the day is far from over.

The Scrum Master might spend the afternoon coaching a junior team member on Agile principles or supporting the Product Owner in negotiations with a stakeholder whose demands threaten to derail the current Sprint. And then there’s the one-on-one with the Product Owner to discuss ways to better refine the product backlog.

As the day winds down, the Scrum Master reflects on their primary role: not to micromanage but to serve, remove obstacles, and help the team self-organize and innovate. It’s a role that demands versatility, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to Agile values.

Tomorrow will be another day of service, and a real Scrum Master wouldn’t have it any other way.

Many Scrum job descriptions sound more like project manager descriptions. But a project manager often takes a more traditional, control-oriented approach. The Scrum Master, on the other hand, assumes a servant-leader role, focusing on empowering the team rather than directing it.

Think of the project manager as the planner with a Gantt chart and the Scrum Master as the coach on the sidelines cheering the team on.

⚠️ The table below outlines common distinctions between Scrum Masters and Project Managers. These descriptions tend to compare the extreme differences between the two roles. The actual dynamics can vary based on the organization, the nature of the project, and other contextual factors.

Salaries for Scrum Masters vary depending on several factors, including experience level, geographic location, industry, and education.

According to Age of Product’s 2023 survey, the average salary for a Scrum Master is $80,995, while Glassdoor puts it at $106,047 (at the time of writing).*

You can use both Glassdoor and Salary.com for real-time Scrum Master salary benchmark data.

* Several factors might explain the difference between these two numbers. Glassdoor is more US-centric, where salaries tend to be higher than in Europe, where Age of Product originates. Age of Product also specializes in its focus on Agile and Scrum roles. Their survey could target a subset of Scrum Masters, perhaps with a different balance of industries, geographies, or experience levels compared to the broader data set collected by Glassdoor.

Certain words or requirements in a Scrum Master job description can indicate a misunderstanding of the role or a company culture that’s not truly agile. When you come across any of the following red flags, proceed with caution.

Terms like “command and control,” “manage the team,” or “reporting to upper management” are telltale signs that the company may not fully understand the servant-leader nature of a Scrum Master. Scrum Masters facilitate and coach; they don’t manage in the traditional sense.

When the job description specifies that the Scrum Master will only be doing X, Y, and Z tasks, it’s a red flag. Agility is about adaptability; the Scrum Master’s role can evolve depending on the team’s needs.

If the job description only talks about facilitating Daily Standups, Sprint Planning, and Retrospectives, it’s missing the broader scope of the Scrum Master role, such as coaching and impediment removal.

A Scrum Master is not an administrator but a coach and mentor to the team. The absence of such terminology in the job description is a negative indicator.

Terms like “Phase-Gate,” “Water-Scrum-Fall,” or “PRINCE2-Scrum” might indicate the organization uses a hybrid approach to project management that combines elements of traditional and Agile methods. The Scrum Master role at such a company might not align with Agile principles, and potential candidates should figure out the company’s commitment to Scrum and Agile.

If you see phrases like “responsible for project delivery,” “budget management,” or “ROI,” the organization likely misunderstands the difference between a project manager and a Scrum Master.

Putting out an authentically Agile Scrum Master job description is about more than self-interest; it’s your responsibility to the Agile community and the profession.

Poorly-framed job postings distort the understanding of the Scrum Master role. Recruiters and others come to believe that what they see incorrectly advertised repeatedly is what being a Scrum Master entails. Soon enough, candidates who don’t understand or fit the role get hired left and right.

Once that happens too often, too many teams and organizations become disillusioned with Scrum Masters and the Scrum framework (“We hired a Scrum Master, and things still don’t work”). This cycle harms individual projects and creates a self-reinforcing, downward spiral that discredits Scrum and Agile as a whole.

By using this template, you’re doing more than getting yourself the best possible candidate; you’re clarifying the true essence of the Scrum Master role for the wider community, contributing to a successful future for Scrum and Agile!