Job-ID: V000056036
Location: Abidjan
Assignment period: 11/01/2023 - 10/31/2025
Field: Rural Development
Type of employment: full-time
Application deadline: 08/09/2023
ABOUT US
• Your professional and personal development is important to us. At GIZ, you will be offered global work opportunities and an atmosphere that is characterised by diversity, respect and genuine equal opportunities. Gender equality promotion is a matter of course for us. Our benefits are also impressive in terms of work-life balance and family friendliness. Flexible working hours that fit your life situation, comprehensive onboarding and internal health management are an integral part of our corporate culture, along with the opportunity to use childcare facilities and parent/child offices.
• GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued - regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation.
• GIZ would like to increase the proportion of employees with disability, both in Germany and abroad. Applications from persons with disabilities are most welcome.
• Our model for success is a better life for everyone and purposeful tasks for our employees. For more than 50 years, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as a company of the German Federal Government, has been supporting the implementation of development policy goals worldwide. Together with partner organisations in 120 countries, we are involved in a diverse range of projects. If you want to make a difference in the world and develop yourself in the process, you've come to the right place.
CONTACT
Hannah Metz
hannah.metz@giz.de
JOB DESCRIPTION
Cocoa production faces considerable challenges. About 90 to 95 % of cocoa is grown by smallholder farmers on an average cultivation area of two to five hectares. Especially in West Africa, the main cocoa growing region, the working and living conditions of cocoa farmers and their families are difficult and the incomes of most cocoa farming families are below the internationally defined poverty line. Poverty is thus a major challenge in the cocoa sector. Other challenges are child labour, the loss of forest areas due to cocoa cultivation, and respect for human rights along the supply chain.
The Regional Coordinator will support an international food company and major buyer of cocoa (“Company”) in the management and verification of supply chain sustainability. Considering the aforementioned challenges, the company, which sources cocoa principally from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, has implemented a range of measures to help bring about positive change across its cocoa supply chain. Among these measures is the application of a minimum due diligence to all Tier 1 suppliers. Additionally, support is provided to farmers and communities through an integrated programme closely aligned with the pillars defined by the World Cocoa Foundation’s Pathway Strategy (namely (i) improving farmers’ livelihoods, (ii) protecting children’s rights, and (iii) safeguarding natural capital). A range of supply chain stakeholders as well as other partners – including direct suppliers, farmer groups, and NGOs – are heavily involved in reaching company goals.
A sound and comprehensive system for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of these wide-ranging sustainability efforts is paramount to ensure the effectiveness of implemented programmes and initiatives. To strengthen existing approaches for M&E, the company commissioned GIZ to support in the management and verification of sustainability programs implemented in company cocoa supply chain in West Africa (mainly Côte d’Ivoire) by company partners and suppliers. The coordinator’s role also entails ensuring compliance with due diligence, identifying synergies with other organization’s sustainable cocoa activities, and follow evolving best practices in relevant areas.
YOUR TASKS
Overall objective
1. This coordinator role has the objective to support the Company’s responsible cocoa sourcing manager in the management and verification of the sustainability programme implemented in the cocoa supply chain in West Africa and to ensure compliance with due diligence.
2. The coordinator will be based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The position’s main scope will be on activities in Côte d’Ivoire but will also include Ghana and potentially Nigeria and Cameroon.
3. The coordinator is responsible for the following:
4. Company sustainability program implementation, data analysis, and due diligence
1) Organize regular meetings with the Company’s local suppliers to monitor status and progress project implementation against agreed targets
2) Collect and verify data from suppliers and ensure their traceability
3) Conduct field trips to the company’s farmer groups and project activities in West Africa to check compliance and derive improvements
4) Support independent audits to check compliance in the company’s cocoa supply chain
5) Support the compliance with the company’s due diligence process
6) Lead the coordination of company sustainability related investments “on the ground”
5. Company sustainability program reporting and communication activities
1) Provide regular update reports to the Company’s responsible cocoa sourcing manager
2) Support the preparation of responsible sourcing material for meetings with internal and external stakeholders
3) Support the collection of relevant content (e.g., pictures, videos, testimonials) for communication materials
4) Support the organization of field trips with internal and external stakeholders
6. Local stakeholder management
1) Participate in relevant local meetings and events representing the Company
2) Manage relationships with key stakeholders at local level
7. Innovation, risks, and opportunities
1) Monitor innovation, risks, and opportunities in the West African cocoa sector
2) Collect insights and information on relevant trends and best practices, and on risks and opportunities in the cocoa sector in West Africa
3) Develop suggestions on how to improve operationalization of relevant sustainability topics
4) Identify potential synergies with third party existing or planned sustainable cocoa programs
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YOUR PROFILE
Pre-requisite experience
1. University qualifications and/or training in agriculture / agroforestry / supply chain-related fields
2. Fluency in French
3. Good business English skills, verbally and written
4. Good ability to build relationships with diverse actors and good communication skills
5. Structured and independent way of working
6. Ability to handle, organize, and report large amounts of data
7. Minimum 5 years of experience in working with the cocoa supply chain and/or with cocoa companies in Côte d’Ivoire with link to sustainability
8. Minimum 2 years of experience of reporting in a corporate context
9. Existing network in the Ivorian/West African cocoa sector
10. Willingness for frequent domestic and irregular regional travel
Desirable qualifications
1. Experience in the implementation and / or evaluation of due diligence processes in the cocoa sector (or similar sectors, e.g. coffee)
2. Experience in monitoring and evaluation of sustainability related projects and programmes in the cocoa sector (or similar sectors as coffee)
3. 2 years of experience with farmer or community development projects in Côte d’Ivoire
4. Expertise in relevant cocoa sustainability program activities: M&E, farmer income, child labour, women empowerment, agroforestry, etc.
5. Experience in Ghana and/or Nigeria
NOTES
This job is suited to a full or a part-time (80%) position.
Please understand, that we can only accept and process applications via our E-recruiting system. Following the confirmation of your successful application, kindly check your spam / junk mail folder on a regular basis, since some provider classify emails from our recruiting system as spam.
Please send us an updated CV in EuropeAid format in English.
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