Cocoa Value Chain Specialist

Organizational Context

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provides technical assistance for the "Empowering Women Entrepreneurs and Family Farmers through Inclusive Bioeconomy in Rondônia" project, approved in February 2026. This initiative, led by UNIDO with UN Women, aims to strengthen coffee and cocoa value chains in Rondônia. It prioritizes women entrepreneurs and family farmers, supporting a transition towards value-added products and advanced cultivation, post-harvesting, and industrialization techniques.

Job Purpose

The Cocoa Value Chain Specialist will lead FAO's implementation of the "Empowering Women Entrepreneurs and Family Farmers through Inclusive Bioeconomy in Rondônia" project activities, ensuring adherence to work plans and budgets. This role involves coordinating institutional actions with partners and key actors, providing technical leadership for project tasks, and ensuring inclusive participation and a gender approach. The specialist will offer technical guidance on cocoa production and value chain development, ensuring all FAO activities align with sustainable bioeconomy principles, FAO standards, and project objectives, while tailoring interventions to beneficiaries like cocoa and chocolate producers.

Responsibilities

Lead on-the-ground technical activities for the cocoa value chain, supporting work plan development and tracking. Provide technical guidance on agroforestry, regenerative cocoa production, sustainable soil management, plant health, and climate-resilient practices. Contribute to developing technical protocols and guidelines, and support gender-sensitive cocoa value chain assessments. Identify constraints and opportunities in productivity, quality, and post-harvest processes. Establish and operationalize cocoa technological reference units (URTs) as innovation hubs. Design and deliver practical, field-based, inclusive, and gender-responsive training for producers, farmers, and technicians. Oversee technical content preparation for training and ensure implementation of safeguards. Liaise with stakeholders including government, institutions, beneficiaries, UN entities, and civil society. Prepare technical inputs for project reports, conduct field missions for monitoring and information gathering, and document good practices and lessons learned. Organize and participate in project meetings and workshops. Support procurement processes by defining technical specifications and assessing received materials.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of professional experience is required in cocoa production systems, sustainable agriculture or agroforestry systems, rural development, and technical assistance. Experience with sustainable cocoa production, including agroforestry and climate-resilient practices, is essential. Knowledge of test and disease management in cocoa, and experience in providing technical assistance and capacity building to women and smallholder farmers are also necessary.

Skills

Geographical knowledge of Rondônia and prior field experience within the state. Expertise in sustainable cocoa production, including agroforestry systems and climate-resilient practices. Experience in cocoa pest and disease management, with training on integrated approaches. Proven ability to provide technical assistance and capacity building to women and smallholder farmers. Experience in post-harvest handling (fermentation, drying, storage) to enhance cocoa quality. Familiarity with cocoa processing and value addition. Understanding of the Brazilian cocoa value chain, including market and organizational aspects. A formal cocoa-related training certification is desirable. Previous work experience focused on rural women's economic empowerment is beneficial.

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