WORLD COCOA FOUNDATION 
recruits 
COCOAACTION SENIOR ADVISOR

www.worldcocoa.org
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

General Description:

The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), a non-profit foundation of the global chocolate and cocoa industry, promotes a sustainable cocoa economy through economic and social development and environmental conservation in cocoa growing communities in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. WCF works with its members to create unique public-private partnerships that support cocoa sustainability throughout the entire cocoa value chain, from small holder farmers to improvements in cocoa quality and value-addition.

WCF recently launched the CocoaAction strategy, which is aimed at accelerating the long-term sustainability of cocoa farmers and the cocoa sector generally in West Africa. The two leading producers of cocoa (Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana) are the initial focus countries for CocoaAction. The strategy will first cover an initial six-year period (2014-2020) and will involve a well-coordinated effort to focus on key strategic thematic areas: cocoa productivity, community development, government outreach, innovations, and Key Performance Indicators. The active involvement of WCF member companies, origin governments, and others in the global cocoa and chocolate value chain is crucial for the strategy’s success. To adequately manage further in-country development and implementation of CocoaAction, WCF seeks a highly qualified professional as CocoaAction Senior Advisor in Côte d’Ivoire.

This position is based at the WCF offices in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and will report to the Senior Program Director, West Africa located in Washington, D.C. The CocoaAction Senior Advisor will maintain key working relationships with:

• the government of Côte d’Ivoire and especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Le Conseil du Café-Cacao, as well as other Ivorian government institutions involved in promoting sustainability in the cocoa sector,
• in-country WCF company members, including especially those that are involved in CocoaAction,
• WCF colleagues in West Africa, Europe and North America, and
• the local offices of international NGOs that are involved in cocoa sustainability work.

Estimated start date: at earliest convenience.

Specific Responsibilities: The CocoaAction Senior Advisor will be responsible for: 

• Solidifying and promoting WCF/CocoaAction as a trusted partner with key stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire
• Working in close partnership with CCC to drive activities of the Public-Private Partnership Platform (PPPP) in Côte d’Ivoire by providing strategic counsel and technical and administrative support to the PPPP’s Technical Secretariat
• Act as the WCF/private sector representative on the Technical Secretariat to support the PPPP and the Strategic Steering Committee and the PPPP leadership structure
• Through the functions of the Technical Secretariat, assist CCC and partners in catalyzing the work of the PPPP’s thematic working groups
• Act as the field-based counterpart to the CocoaAction Deputy Director based in Washington, D.C., and to the CocoaAction Technical Working Committee to ensure effective communication flows between Côte d’Ivoire and WCF.
• Drive CocoaAction government outreach in-country and regularly update and inform WCF’s Senior Management
• Establish, facilitate and ensure effective and open communication with the government of Côte d’Ivoire and other partners, particularly related to CocoaAction’s objectives and alignment of stakeholders’ work with CocoaAction
• Develop systems to share CocoaAction’s objectives with in-country representatives of WCF member companies, as well as with the governments and other in-country cocoa sustainability stakeholders.
• Identify informational and other capacity gaps and then work to remedy them to ensure effective collaboration among WCF/CocoaAction and local stakeholders

• Develop and help supervise the implementation of annual CocoaAction country work plans and report regularly with various WCF stakeholders. 

Additionally, the successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• At 10 years of relevant work experience, including at least 3 years of work that involved extensive interaction with African governments, particularly Côte d’Ivoire, and including proven experience with private sector companies
• Prior experience living and working in West Africa with strong written and spoken English and French, with the ability to conduct WCF business in both languages ,
• Experience in and demonstrated commitment to development work focused on one or more of the following areas: food security, value chain development, and economic development with a proven track record in taking strategy to action and delivering on program execution;
• Experience working with senior-level executives, with the capability of inspiring confidence and passion in both internal and external audiences;

• Advanced strategy and planning skills, including an ability to think strategically on both organizational and systemic levels over multi-year horizons;
• Experience in building and maintaining existing relationships with, or ability to build relationships with, a cross-sectorial range of stakeholders in the local or regional area, including senior executives;
• A proven track record of leading, inspiring, and developing high performance teams
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with a diverse set of high profile stakeholders, as well as excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience in Public-Private Partnership Platform management would be an advantage
• Initiative and commitment to WCF’s mission
• Self-directed work style with comfort with ambiguity and ability to thrive in a fluid, entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment requiring sound judgment; willingness to “roll up one’s sleeves” and extend beyond formal responsibilities based on the needs of the work 

Compensation:

Compensation for the position is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Application Instructions:

Interested and eligible candidates are requested to e-mail their cover letter describing their interest in this role and WCF including salary requirements and résumé to: wcf@worldcocoa.org at their earliest convenience. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis to select a successful candidate. Successful candidates will be asked to submit a writing sample. When applying, please note the job position title in the subject line. No phone calls please. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

About the Organization

The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), a non-profit foundation of the global chocolate and cocoa industry, promotes a sustainable cocoa economy through economic and social development and environmental conservation in cocoa growing communities in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. WCF works with its members to create unique public-private partnerships that support cocoa sustainability throughout the entire cocoa value chain, from small holder farmers to improvements in cocoa quality and value-addition.

To apply, click here