BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) is seeking highly qualified and dynamic individuals to work at its new headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa).
The ICCO recruits its staff on fixed-term contracts (evolving into permanent contracts, based on satisfactory performance) or temporary contracts. Staff members are grouped in two main streams: Professional (P) or General Service staff (GS). Directors (D) are part of the Management category. ICCO also employs consultants, interns and volunteers to assist with special projects and short-term recruitment needs.
Successful applicants will receive attractive remuneration packages with generous benefits as applicable to their status. This includes tax-free expatriate contracts where relevant or local contracts, pension scheme, paid sick leave, paid maternity/paternity leave, life, accident and health insurance, paid holidays, education grant for children of international recruits, etc. ) based on the United Nations (UN) salary scale.
Working as a staff member in the ICCO Secretariat will give you the opportunity to be part of a dynamic, multicultural environment. The staff members of the ICCO, who come predominantly from its Member countries (cocoa-exporting and cocoa-importing countries), have diverse backgrounds, and carry distinct professional and personal experience. It is an exciting and unique opportunity to be part of such a working environment, because it leads to a broader understanding of the issues facing the global cocoa economy. You must be willing and able to travel to various countries worldwide to contribute to the mission of the ICCO.
The ICCO is an equal opportunity employer.
The deadline for the receipt of applications is Friday, 25 November 2016.
Interviews will take place in late November to early December 2016.
Starting dates will begin in January 2017 and can be flexible upon discussions with the ICCO management.
DIRECTOR OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
(D1/D2 in the United Nations salary scale)
THE POSITION
This exciting position requires a dynamic and forward-thinking personality, a strong commitment to the global cocoa sector and its stakeholders, a proactive and visionary approach, a participative and collaborative management style and active communication with all internal and external stakeholders in the cocoa and chocolate value chain. The ideal candidate will offer a combination of strong interpersonal skills, providing solid intellectual and analytic leadership to the Organization and its stakeholders.
More specifically, the incumbent will be required to:
- Plan, direct and co-ordinate the work of staff members in the Economics and Statistics Division.
- Contribute substantively to the implementation of the economic provisions of the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010.
- Advise the Executive Director on matters relating to his/her area of expertise.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- To monitor the implementation of the economic provisions of the International Cocoa Agreement, to assess their effectiveness vis-à-vis the stated objectives and their effects on achieving a sustainable world cocoa economy.
- To review the professional work involved in the collection, processing and publication of statistical information as required under the International Cocoa Agreement and the production of ICCO Quarterly Bulletin and other relevant statistical publications.
- To oversee the preparation of economic studies and reports on the world cocoa economy, including projections of production, grindings, prices, exports, imports, periodic market reviews and the economic sections of the ICCO annual report.
- To supervise the work involved in the preparation of project proposals, monitoring and evaluation of project implementation, in both exporting and importing countries. This includes responsibility for working relations with institutions in member countries and international institutions for the development and implementation of project proposals.
- To develop, to widen and to strengthen the ICCO’s cooperation and partnerships with relevant institutions such as development agencies, financial institutions, multi-lateral and bilateral donors, and the trade and industry etc., with the view to improving the Organization’s capacity to attract funding for projects, and to be responsible for ICCO relations with these partners.
- To promote and maintain contacts with representatives of Member countries, non-member countries and national and international organizations on matters relating to the world cocoa economy.
- To initiate and to oversee the drafting of speeches and presentations by the Executive Director for seminars, conferences and meetings outside the Organization, and to represent the Executive Director at such events, as necessary.
- To oversee the organization of multi-stakeholders events with the aim of sharing knowledge and building consensus on strategic matters, including the World Cocoa Conference; the Cocoa Market Outlook Conference, Cocoa Research Conferences and to organize workshops, seminars and other relevant events to enhance the capacity of stakeholders from Member countries to address the challenges they face.
- To organize and to oversee the work of the Economics Committee, the Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy and the ICCO Expert Working Groups in accordance with the provisions of the International Cocoa Agreement.
- To formulate the Organization’s five-year strategic action plans and to draft annual work programmes under guidance from the Executive Director and to review implementation of past work programmes.
- To prepare drafts of possible proposals for amendments/refinements of the International Cocoa Agreement, particularly in the context of re-negotiation of the said Agreement.
- To perform general administration duties within the Division, including discipline and annual appraisal of staff performance.
- To assess, review and, if necessary, revise the work carried out by the staff in his/her division before submission to the Executive Director.
- To perform any other duties assigned by the Executive Director.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:
- Hold a PhD degree in economics (agricultural or related field) with extensive experience in macro-economics, statistics, or related discipline. Master’s degree in Economics, combined with specialized experience in similar organization/s, may be considered in lieu of a Doctoral degree.
- A minimum of 15 years relevant and demonstrable professional experience acquired in the area of development economics, academia or multilateral institutions. The last 5 years should be at a management level.
- Must have an in-depth knowledge of the world cocoa economy, its challenges and opportunities, within the wider global economy.
- Ability to implement continual improvement activities to processes, with a keen eye for detail;
- Ability to multitask, meet strict deadlines and work under pressure;
- Strong outreach competencies with ability to confidently speak at international fora on the cocoa economy and the other economic development issues. Excellent public relations skills with all partners the press, analysts, academics, professional bodies, multilateral development agencies and other international organizations, and government officials.
- Ability to think strategically and to design long-term plans and programs to develop staff competences in line with strategic priorities.
- Ability to inspire, generate and sustain staff commitment and professional excellence.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French with a good working knowledge of the other language. Spanish and/or Russian would be an advantage.
- Competence in the use of standard Microsoft software (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications, quoting the reference “Director, Economic and Statistics Division,” including a curriculum vitae, three (3) referees, cover letter and salary expectations must be submitted by 25 November 2016 sent to the address below.
The Executive Director
International Cocoa Organization
Westgate House, Westgate Road
Ealing, London W5 1YY
United Kingdom
A copy of the application may also be sent by email to jobs@icco.org.
To apply for this position, you must to be a national of one of the ICCO member countries (please see list on www.icco.org). Please note that only short-listed applicants for interview will be contacted.
Notice to Applicants
ICCO does not charge any sort of fees from applicants for jobs or its prospective employees for any reason before, during and after the selection process (application, interview, meeting, traveling, processing, training or any other fees). All communication with applicants is done through a verifiable ICCO email address and not from an Internet address such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail or mobile line, etc.
