Søren Hjelholt
Agile consultant

I help organizations achieve better value, sooner, safer & happier. Agile consultant, coach, trainer and working Scrum Master / Product Owner with a flair for 360° thinking and putting the customer in focus.

Approach

Value first, method second

My main goal is to deliver value to the customer, and I believe the best way to do this is through an agile way of working. I acknowledge that a team or organization must co-exist with many stakeholders, and it is therefore my responsibility to use the tools I have and tailor the process to best suit the customer's needs. My toolbox consists of a mix of expertise in agile frameworks, a mindset coupled with expertise in change management, and a pragmatic approach to problem solving.

I first encountered agile about 15 years ago, where Scrum was used within a project program to facilitate ever-changing requirements. Since then, I have used agile principles and frameworks to get the most out of the projects I've been involved in — simply because it made more sense. A good example is working diligently with MVPs and focusing on delivering business value as early as possible. I combine a solid theoretical and practical understanding of Agile, Scrum and Kanban with hands-on experience as scrum master, delivery- and project manager, plus IT management experience from a department management team.

Profile

Education

MSc in IT and Business Administration
Copenhagen Business School (2000–2006)

Languages

Danish: native
English: negotiation / advanced level

Certifications

2020 SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)

2019 SAFe DevOps Practitioner

2017 SAFe Agilist

2017 Professional Scrum Master I (Scrum.org)

2015 ITIL Foundation

2009 Certified Organization Change Manager

2007 Certified Facilitator

Skills
Agile
Scrum
Project management
SAFe
Facilitation
Kanban
Org. change mgmt.
Teaching / instructor
Stakeholder mgmt.
SDLC
Career

Timeline

2022 –
Agile Course Instructor, Mannaz

Teaching a Scrum Master course introducing new scrum masters to the role, aimed at the Scrum.org PSM certification, plus several SAFe courses.

2022 –
Scrum Master, Vattenfall

Ensuring a SharePoint-based document management team works efficiently and delivers value, including much closer cooperation between business areas and the development team.

2020–2022
Scrum Master & Agile Coach, Novo Nordisk

Scrum Master for a newly formed team within a SAFe setup, guiding PI planning and events. From 2021, part-time Agile Coach starting up a new release train; from autumn 2021, full-time Agile Coach across ARTs.

2019
Agile Consultant, Saxo Bank

Set up an agile coaching hub, supported middle management and Product Owners implementing Lean Portfolio Management, and helped teams adopt data-driven improvement and agile best practice.

2018–2019
Project Manager & Consultant, Rigsarkivet

Technical project manager for two internal projects, plus advisory services to IT management on the future development process and project model.

2018
Agile Consultant, TDC Group

Supported teams building a Spotify-inspired agile delivery organization; later helped chapter leads and took over a team converting to Kanban.

2018
Scrum Master, Nordea Liv & Pension

Scrum Master for a newly formed team, establishing a common agile way of working and contributing to the wider scaled agile setup.

2017
Agile Team Coach, ATP

Start-up of 4 Scrum/Kanban teams preparing for a scaled Agile (SAFe) setup, with heavy focus on coaching Product Owners toward well-refined backlogs.

2017
Agile Consultant, Oticon

Workshops aligning Scrum roles and management ahead of a SAFe-inspired setup in a 120-person R&D department, plus post-implementation coaching.

2016
Agile Trainer, Ugilic & Agile Akademiet

Taught Agile introduction, Scrum Master and Product Owner certification courses, plus change management and Kanban courses; ran the webinar program.

2016–2017
Agile Team Coach, BRF Kredit

Coached teams and cross-team activities in a 30+ person scaled setup drawing on SAFe and Nexus, plus middle management on working in an agile organization.

2016
Scrum Master / Delivery Manager, GN Audio

Scrum Master across project teams spanning Denmark and Ukraine; delivery manager aligning deliveries with the wider organization.

2013–2016
Agile Project Manager, Danske Bank

Responsible for Real Estate Financing projects up to 40M DKK with 20+ staff, using agile methodologies including Scrum and Kanban.

2006–2013
Business Analyst, Danske Bank

Business analyst on large projects including electronic signature, an online advisory system, a new property system and compliance projects.

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