Established in 2002, the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) is a leading organisation promoting child protection in cocoa-growing communities. ICI works with the cocoa industry, civil society and national governments in cocoa-producing countries to ensure a better future for children and contribute to the elimination of child labour.

Today, an evolving regulatory environment and new research findings have brought the issue of adult and child forced labour higher up on the list of human rights issues most relevant to the coco-sector and ICI reflected this change by giving forced labour a more prominent status in its revised 2020 strategy. In order to manage an evolving portfolio of projects and activities in this field, ICI seeks to recruit a Regional Forced Labour Advisor, who under the supervision of the Deputy National Coordinator/Director in Ghana or Ivory Coast, will perform the following tasks:

Key Responsibilities:

  1. Manage the ICI 2-year innovation pilot on forced labour which includes but is not limited to:
  • Conduct field visits to children and workers identified to be at risk of forced labour;
  • Review and adapt existing child labour monitoring methods and data collection tools (also with SOSTECI/GCLMS) to reflect latest findings from known forced labour surveys such as (WFF, Sheffield, Verité);
  • In collaboration with local and national government, cocoa cooperatives/LBCs, community leadership, design and pilot-test information/ grievance mechanisms for labour abuses focussing specifically on forced labour;
  • Work with selected farmers’ groups to review and adapt existing policies/bylaws and practices (e.g. witnessing oral contracts) related to labour rights and recruitment with a view to increase detection and prevention of forced labour;
  • Review and adapt existing training and awareness-raising materials (and/or develop new ones) to reflect latest findings from research surveys on forced labour risks in cocoa;
  • Deliver training and awareness-raisings sessions to key actors in existing CL systems (both community and supply-chain-based) to test revised/new materials;
  • Train key individuals from the Union nationale des radios de proximité de Côte d'Ivoire on issues related to forced labour;
  • Adapt existing Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) survey to measure the impact of revised raining material;
  • Map existing government, UN and NGO structures able to handle/ respond to cases of strong forced labour risks;
  • Adapt/develop case management standard operating procedures laying-out steps to be taken by the different actors to remediate/mitigate forced labour risks;
  • Engage relevant governmental, UN and NGO bodies to validate the case management Standard Operating Procedures ensuring that responsibilities are shared and allocated at the right level;
  • Test case management plan and actual remediation options for forced labour cases or high-risk individual;
  • Map regulatory environment (e.g. modern slavery act, new French/Dutch due diligence laws) and companies obligations towards forced labour in the cocoa context and collide the information in a written briefing/paper to be published;
  • Consolidate findings from the pilot into a report articulating concrete recommendations to supply-chain actors, UN, Government agencies, donors (e.g. US DOL) and NGOs working on child labour and labour rights in cocoa
  1. Coordinate ICI’s input in the project “Combating Forced Labor and Labor Trafficking of Adults and Children in Ghana” for which ICI is a subcontractor;
  2. Advise and support the organisation in how to mainstream forced labour across existing projects;
  3. Represent ICI with partners, national authorities and other relevant stakeholders and act as the focal point on issues related to forced labour for both Ghana and Ivory Coast;
  4. Contribute to build and strengthen ICI’s expertise in the area of forced labour;
  5. Contribute to the preparation of notes, briefing and reports required for ICI to meet its reporting obligations to the Board and its working group on forced labour.

Position Base and Travel Requirements

The position can be either based in ICI’s office in Accra or in Ivory Coast with regular travel to ICI’s project districts in Ghana and Ivory Coast, with possible travels beyond those two countries.

Qualifications and experience:

 

Essential requirements: 

  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills in both English and French. Candidates who speak only one of the two languages will not be considered.
  • A Bachelor’s degree in Law, Human Rights, Sociology, Development Studies or any other relevant field;
  • Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the area of child labour, trafficking, labour rights, forced labour or similar issues;
  • Experience in the design and implementation of grievance mechanisms, labour rights policies and/or monitoring systems;
  • In-depth knowledge of the issue of forced labour, small holder agriculture and rural realities in Ghana and Ivory Coast – experience in or knowledge of the cocoa sector would be valued;
  • Excellent mastery of the project management cycle and experience in managing grants;
  • Ability to consolidate and summarize information from different sources into well-structured and digestible reports;
  • Ability to motivate and inspire others.

  

NB: ICI has zero-tolerance for all forms of child neglect, abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, and psychological) and exploitation (sexual and commercial). 

 

ICI commits to put the best interest of the child first, and at the centre of its work, irrespective of a child’s ability, ethnicity, faith, gender, sexuality and culture.

 

ICI recognizes its responsibility to ensure and to promote a safe and secure environment for children. To effectively manage risks to children, ICI requires the commitment, support and cooperation of all staff, associates, partners, suppliers, service-providers and visitors. By applying at ICI, you automatically agree to the above term and uphold the principles described herein

How to apply:

Applicants should submit a CV and cover letter (via APPLY below) including salary expectation (gross per month) and earliest starting date to hr@cocoainitiative.org by 04th of January 2019. 

Only those candidates who match the above requirements and who have been selected for interview will be contacted.

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