HAWANATU KARGBO
Greenbelt, ***** Maryland 240-***-**** ******.**********@*****.*** LinkedIn
CAREER SUMMARY
Goal-oriented and certified Scrum Master/PMP with over 10 years of experience facilitating Agile transformations and driving high-performing teams within complex, scaled Agile environments. Skilled in coaching and mentoring cross-functional teams, implementing SAFe and Scrum methodologies, and ensuring seamless collaboration across stakeholders to deliver value-driven solutions. Expertise in backlog management, risk mitigation, and removing impediments to enhance team productivity and alignment with business objectives. Proficient in leveraging Agile tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, and Rally to track progress and optimize delivery workflows. Adept at fostering a culture of continuous improvement, promoting accountability, and achieving project milestones efficiently and effectively.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Agile Framework Expertise
Servant Leadership
Agile Transformation Leadership
Team Coaching and Development
Scrum Event Facilitation
Backlog Prioritization
Stakeholder Collaboration
Risk Management
Agile Metrics Analysis
Conflict Resolution
Cross-Team Coordination
Change Management
Continuous Improvement Advocacy
Agile Tool Proficiency
Strategic Communication
SAFe Framework Implementation
Dependency Management
Customer-Centric Focus
TECHNICAL SKILLS
PROJECT TOOLS: Atlassian Suite (Jira, Jira Align, Jira Premise, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket, Lucid Chart) Rally, and Azure DevOps (ADO).
DATA VISUALIZATION: Power BI, Eazy BI, and Tableu.
COLLABORATION TOOLS: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, Teams, and Outlook), Webex, Zoom, Google Meet, Miro, SharePoint, Aha, and ServiceNow.
FRAMEWORK/METHODOLOGIES: Waterfall and Agile Framework (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP, and Scaled Agile/SAFe).
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Agile Project Manager III/Scrum Master 01/2023 to 01/2025
Universal Service Administrative Company Washington DC
Facilitated agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and sprint reviews, fostering team collaboration and alignment to deliver high-quality deliverables ahead of schedule.
Key Responsibilities:
Coached teams on Kanban principles, metrics, and practices to improve flow efficiency and team maturity.
Facilitated team-level Kanban events such as stand-ups, backlog refinement, queue replenishment, and retrospectives.
Served as a servant leader, supporting the team’s emotional intelligence, collaboration, and self-organization.
Promoted continuous improvement by identifying bottlenecks, coaching on metrics (cycle time, lead time), and encouraging data-informed decisions.
Optimized project execution and release management by coordinating deployments, ensuring compliance with change control procedures, and effectively communicating progress through data-driven reporting to stakeholders at all levels.
Empowered teams to identify and eliminate blockers, aligning with product managers and stakeholders to deliver customer-centric solutions, resulting in improved efficiency and accelerated delivery of value-driven project outcomes.
Developed and maintain project management plans, including project timelines, budgets, and people allocation.
Led agile transformation initiatives supporting IT modernization efforts, including the Healthcare Connect Fund and Telecom Programs, accelerating the deployment of critical infrastructure to underserved and rural populations.
Collaborated with the Product Owner, IT department, and stakeholders to outline Jira Cloud migration strategy and timeline.
Ensured clear communication with the team regarding the need for the Jira Cloud migration, potential benefits (like improved performance, better integrations, and cloud security), and any expected disruptions.
Facilitated training sessions for the team on the key differences between Jira Server (Prem) and Jira Cloud, including new features, navigation, and best practices for working with cloud-based Jira.
Provided insights using Agile metrics (velocity, burndown charts) to track Jira cloud migration progress.
Scaled Agile Scrum Master (SAFe) 05/2020 to 01/2023
MasterCard New York NY
Collaborated with Release Train Engineers (RTE), Product Managers, and cross-functional teams to drive end-to-end delivery of prioritized features, ensuring seamless integration across multiple teams and technologies through SAFe principles.
Key Responsibilities:
Facilitated SAFe Agile ceremonies including Daily Standups, Sprint Planning, Iteration Reviews, PI (Program Increment) Planning, Retrospectives, and System Demos to ensure alignment between stakeholders, engineering teams, and product owners, driving transparency, and delivering measurable outcomes.
Worked closely with Product Owners and Release Train Engineers (RTEs) to ensure proper alignment of program objectives, features, and story prioritization.
Participate in technical challenges, helping the team ideate and deliver innovative solutions to complex problems.
Tracked and reported on key SAFe metrics such as team velocity, iteration progress, and PI goals to stakeholders and leadership.
Facilitated alignment of dependencies between the program team and third parties, release managers and other teams outside of the train.
Coached and guided Agile teams on SAFe practices and principles, promoting continuous improvement and team collaboration.
Enable cadence and Synchronization across multiple teams so individual team backlogs and solutions are understood, resolved, and integrated.
Facilitated communication and collaboration between teams, ensuring cross-team alignment and coordination within the Agile Release Train (ART).
Supported the team in maintaining focus on business value, outcomes, and timely delivery of increments.
Identified and remove impediments that block progress, ensuring smooth project delivery and risk mitigation.
Promoted an Agile mindset across the teams, encouraging self-organization, collaboration, and accountability.
Senior Scrum Master 04/2019 to 04/2020
CDW Vernon Hills IL
Facilitated Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and reviews, to drive collaboration, continuous improvement, and the successful delivery of high-impact solutions aligned with organizational goals.
Key Responsibilities:
Spearheaded the implementation of SAFe practices across multiple teams, ensuring seamless alignment with enterprise objectives, promoting transparency, and fostering a culture of collaboration within Agile Release Trains (ARTs).
Coached and mentored cross-functional Scrum teams on Agile principles and best practices, enabling consistent delivery of value, improved velocity, and enhanced stakeholder satisfaction.
Collaborated closely with Product Owners to refine and prioritize backlogs, ensuring features and user stories were aligned with strategic objectives, and delivering measurable business value.
Proactively identified and removed impediments while resolving team conflicts, significantly enhancing team morale, productivity, and ability to deliver on sprint commitments.
Leveraged data-driven insights by tracking and analyzing Agile performance metrics, enabling leadership to make informed decisions, and driving continuous process optimization across teams.
Tracked and reported on key performance metrics, leveraging data to inform decision-making and improve team delivery processes.
Engaged with leadership to promote Agile adoption and provide insights on team performance and progress against strategic objectives.
Ensured seamless collaboration between developers, cloud architects, and DevOps engineers to maximize AWS capabilities.
Acted as a bridge between technical teams and business stakeholders to ensure AWS adoption aligned with company goals.
Successfully guided teams in delivering high-availability, scalable AWS solutions using Agile methodologies.
Project Manager/Scrum Master Coach 07/2017 to 04/2019
Humana Louisville, KY
Provided servant leadership to Agile teams, guiding the delivery of high-impact, complex projects by fostering collaboration, removing impediments, and enabling the seamless execution of business-critical objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
Built and maintained strong cross-functional relationships across Agile teams, leveraging facilitation and leadership skills to align team deliverables with organizational goals, and delivering measurable business value.
Blended traditional project management principles with Agile frameworks, driving iterative delivery, enhancing team efficiency, and ensuring a balance of agility and predictability across Epic and Feature-level initiatives.
Supported Product Managers and Owners in refining customer expectations, managing stakeholder communications, and identifying and mitigating cross-team dependencies, ensuring on-time delivery of value-driven solutions.
Championed Agile principles in program-level ceremonies, enabling teams to identify dependencies, manage risks, and maintain a sustainable pace, resulting in consistently high-quality deliverables.
Partners with development, testing, and production release teams to understand issues, remove impediments, and resolve issues.
Develop a comprehensive project plan, timeline, and resource allocation strategy.
Ensure smooth collaboration between stakeholders, teams, and external vendors.
Identify risks and address challenges that arise during the project lifecycle.
Scaled Agile Scrum Master (SAFe) 09/2014 to 06/2017
Aetna Vienna, VA
Led and coached multiple Agile teams within the SAFe framework, driving cross-team collaboration, aligning objectives with strategic priorities, and delivering high-value solutions on time and within scope.
Key Responsibilities:
Mentored team members and stakeholders in Agile principles, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement, resulting in measurable performance enhancements.
Facilitated Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives, to ensure alignment on goals, optimize delivery cadence, and enhance team accountability.
Collaborated with Product Owners and stakeholders to prioritize backlogs and align deliverables with organizational objectives, achieving a 25% improvement in delivery timelines.
Tracked and reported on team performance metrics, providing insights to leadership on progress, challenges, and areas for improvement.
Identified potential project risks and impediments, proactively working with teams to develop mitigation strategies.
Assisted in the management of product backlogs, ensuring prioritization aligns with business objectives and customer needs.
Conducted training sessions and workshops to promote Agile best practices and enhance team capabilities.
Fostered collaboration across departments to ensure seamless integration of Agile processes within the organization.
Advocated for and implement continuous improvement initiatives to optimize team performance and project outcomes.
Guide the team toward achieving project goals.
Develop a comprehensive project plan, timeline, and resource allocation strategy.
Ensure smooth collaboration between stakeholders, teams, and external vendors.
Identify risks and address challenges that arise during the project lifecycle.
Act as the primary point of contact for stakeholders and keep everyone informed on project status.
EDUCATION
MD Master of Science
Kaplan University Hagerstown, MD
MD Bachelor of Science
Bowie State University Bowie, MD
CERTIFICATIONS
Project Manager Professional (PMP), Project Management Institution
Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum Alliance
Certified Leading SAFe 6.0, SAFe Studio