Fairtrade & Farmer Development Manager at Mavuno Organics

The Role

• The Fairtrade & Farmer Development Manager will be responsible for establishing, strengthening and scaling Fairtrade-certified avocado producer organisations and developing a reliable supply base capable of supporting Mavuno's growing Fairtrade and organic export programmes.
• This is both a farmer development and supply-growth role.
• The successful candidate will work directly with cooperatives, CBOs, self-help groups, individual growers and other stakeholders to strengthen producer organisations, recruit new farmers, improve avocado production and productivity, maintain certification compliance and secure increasing volumes of export-quality Fairtrade avocados.
• The position requires someone who can move beyond managing existing farmer groups and actively build new sources of certified supply.

Key Responsibilities

Fairtrade Farmer Network Development

• Identify and recruit avocado farmers into Mavuno's Fairtrade supply programme.
• Identify suitable existing cooperatives, CBOs and self-help groups for partnership and development.
• Support the establishment and development of new legally recognized farmer organisations where required.
• Develop and execute annual farmer recruitment and Fairtrade supply-expansion plans.
• Build relationships with large-scale and commercial avocado growers capable of supplying Fairtrade and organic programmes.

Producer Organisation Development

• Strengthen the governance and institutional capacity of participating farmer organisations.
• Support producer organisations in developing appropriate management, administration and record-keeping systems.
• Build the capacity of elected leaders and management committees in governance, accountability and Fairtrade requirements.
• Support organisations in developing and implementing Fairtrade development plans and appropriate Premium management systems.

Fairtrade & Organic Compliance

• Coordinate implementation and maintenance of applicable Fairtrade requirements across participating producer organisations.
• Support farmer groups in preparing for Fairtrade certification and surveillance audits.
• Work closely with internal technical teams to maintain organic and other applicable certification requirements.
• Ensure accurate farmer registers, farm records, traceability documentation and certification records.
• Identify compliance gaps and coordinate timely corrective actions.

Production & Supply Development

• Develop annual production and supply forecasts for participating farmer groups.
• Work with field teams and farmers to improve avocado orchard management, productivity, fruit quality and export pack-out.
• Monitor flowering, fruit development, crop estimates and harvesting readiness.
• Develop strategies to increase certified Fairtrade avocado volumes year on year.
• Coordinate supply planning with Mavuno's commercial, procurement, technical and packhouse teams.

Farmer Capacity Building

• Develop and coordinate farmer training programmes covering good agricultural practices, organic production, Fairtrade requirements, quality, traceability and responsible farming.
• Strengthen farmers' understanding of international market requirements.
• Promote professional and commercially sustainable farmer organisations capable of building long-term relationships with international markets.

Stakeholder Management

• Maintain effective relationships with producer organisations, certification bodies, government agencies, development partners and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate Fairtrade-related communication and documentation between Mavuno and participating producer organisations.
• Represent Mavuno in relevant farmer development, certification and Fairtrade engagements.

Reporting & Performance Management

• Maintain accurate data on farmer numbers, acreage, certification status, production forecasts and supplied volumes.
• Prepare monthly reports on farmer recruitment, certification progress, production, compliance and supply performance.
• Establish measurable annual targets for expansion of Mavuno';s Fairtrade supply base.
• Track performance against agreed KPIs and recommend corrective actions where targets are not being achieved.

Qualifications & Experience

The ideal candidate should have:

• A Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Horticulture, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development or a related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in farmer development, horticultural value chains, certification, contract farming, cooperatives or agricultural supply-chain management.
• Demonstrable experience working directly with smallholder farmers and farmer organisations.
• Experience with Fairtrade certification and standards will be a strong advantage.
• Knowledge of organic certification, GlobalG.A.P. or similar agricultural certification systems will be advantageous.
• Experience in avocado or export horticulture will be highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of farmer mobilisation, training, production planning and agricultural supply development.
• Ability to interpret standards and translate compliance requirements into practical field-level systems.
• Strong reporting, data-management and stakeholder-management capabilities.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively to avocado-producing regions

Personal Attributes

We are particularly interested in candidates who are:

• Results-driven – able to translate plans into farmer numbers, certified acreage and actual avocado volumes.
• Field-oriented – comfortable spending significant time working directly with farmers and producer organisations.
• Entrepreneurial – able to identify opportunities and build farmer networks rather than simply administer existing programmes.
• Highly organised – capable of managing certification records, farmer data and multiple producer organisations.
• Commercially aware – understands that farmer development must ultimately translate into sustainable supply and market access.
• Strong communicators – able to work effectively with farmers, community leaders, auditors, management and international stakeholders.
• High integrity – committed to transparency, responsible sourcing and the principles underlying Fairtrade.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this position will be measured by tangible growth in:

• Fairtrade-certified farmer organizations;
• participating avocado farmers;
• certified acreage;
• forecasted and delivered Fairtrade avocado volumes;
• farmer productivity and export-quality fruit;
• compliance performance; and the institutional strength and sustainability of participating producer organizations.