Company Profile

Equity program (support for fair trade dynamics in West Africa) began in January 2016. This program has already run over two phases (2016-2019 and 2019-2024), and the third phase will begin in October 2024. Based in Abidjan, it will operate in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin and Togo. Its aim is to contribute to the sustainable economic development of low-income countries, fight poverty and strengthen family farming by supporting the development of fair and sustainable value chains in West Africa. AVSF (Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières) manages the program on behalf of Commerce Equitable France (CEF). In order to monitor the program's activities in Ghana, AVSF is looking for a bilingual project manager to support the project's beneficiary producer organizations (POs) in implementing their activities.

Context and Duties of the Technical Assistant
Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF) is a professional international solidarity association recognized as a public utility, which has been working to support peasant agriculture since 1977. In Africa, Asia and South America, the association works with peasant communities to promote agro-ecological transitions to overcome food insecurity and the economic vulnerability of peasant families. AVSF also contributes to the consolidation of producers' organizations and their growing participation in both local and export sectors (fair trade, organic and quality sectors) to ensure fairer remuneration and a consequent improvement in the living conditions of farming families. To find out more about AVSF, visit our website: www.avsf.org

The phase 3 of Equity project in West Africa aims to transmit and disseminate the results and innovations from the previous phases. Its purpose is to contribute to poverty reduction by strengthening equitable value chains for small producers, supporting agroecological transition, and professionalizing fair trade-certified cooperatives in West Africa. In the case of the cocoa sector, it will specifically contribute to implementing the new European regulation against “imported” deforestation (RDUE), which requires full traceability of cocoa placed on the European market by 2025 : programme-equite.org

Job Description

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensure overall coordination of Phase 3 of the Equity program in Ghana
• Facilitate the identification of partners for Phase 3 of the program.
• Provide support to partner producer organizations (POs) in the implementation of their production, processing, and marketing activities for their certified products
• Disseminate priority information regarding the existence, content, and progress of the project to all stakeholders involved in the Equity program at the national level.
• Conduct strategic monitoring of traceability issues in the cocoa sector.
• Support the implementation of research-action activities within beneficiary POs and monitor intermediate results.
• Assist cooperatives in identifying remunerative commercial outlets on fair trade and organic markets.
• Facilitate the consolidation of management and financing access capacities for POs in the cocoa sector.
• Coordinate regional and international exchanges between the National Fair Trade Platform.
• Lead activities to promote gender equality and social inclusion
• Facilitate fair trade promotion activities in Ghana.
• Provide support to external service providers for the Equity program
• Contribute to the establishment of the project's baseline and provide data for the project's Monitoring and Evaluation tools.
• Monitor the partnership with Fairtrade Ghana Network (FTGN).
• Facilitate advocacy activities for the cocoa sector in Ghana.
• Ensure transparent management of financial and logistical resources.
• Ensure representation of the project and AVSF, and follow up on AVSF's commitments to local authorities.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of a cooperation strategy in Ghana.
• Actively contribute to the identification, formulation, and negotiation of projects.
• Contribute to AVSF and its partners' advocacy activities, communication actions, and AVSF's associative life.
• Ensure the archiving of all project-related documents (reporting, photos, accounting,correspondence, etc.)

Required Skills or Experience

• Agricultural Engineer or Agroeconomist with a minimum of 6 years of confirmed experience in a program coordination or coordination position within an international or regional NGO in West Africa.,
• Fluent in written and spoken English (mandatory),
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment, Strong analytical and synthesis skills, Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, Strong writing skills, Strong ability to work independently and adapt to new situations.

Competences & Required Expériences

• Strong knowledge of West African value chains and certification dynamics (Fairtrade mandatory, organic if possible),
• Experience collaborating with a diverse range of technical and financial partners,
• Experience working in West Africa or Ghana is an asset,
• Experience in structuring producer organizations, facilitating advocacy actions, and developing agricultural value chains,
• Experience coordinating projects and programs to promote agroecological practices,
• Proficiency in data collection software (Kobo, ODK, etc.),
• Excellent writing and synthesis skills