Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. Based in New York City, with offices throughout the United States and worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers.
Under the auspices of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), an international coalition of leading conservation groups, the Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Agriculture Division works with farmers to ensure compliance with the SAN standards for protecting wildlife, farm land, workers’ rights and local communities. Farms that meet these rigorous environmental, ethical and economic standards are awarded the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal. The Sustainable Agriculture Division consists of the Sustainable Landscapes Program, the Sustainable Value Chains Program, the Traceability Unit and Program Administration. The work of the Sustainable Agriculture Division is closely linked to the work of the SAN Secretariat, housed in Rainforest Alliance’s Costa Rica office.
Sustainable Value Chains (SVC) is the market-facing arm of Sustainable Agriculture and works with 3000+ companies globally to increase demand for crops grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. It builds markets for certified products by facilitating market linkages between companies, traders and producers. Products grown in a Rainforest Alliance Certified farm can be sold as Rainforest Alliance Certified and carry the Rainforest Alliance green frog seal on the pack. The SVC team coordinates with various programs of Rainforest Alliance, to guide companies on the different processes and protocols to sell certified products, including licensing agreements, assisting companies scale up plans for certified products and reviewing and approving products for the use of the Rainforest Alliance Certified (RAC) seal.
Position Summary:
The Manager will be responsible for market development, stakeholder outreach and relationship management of businesses in Canada selling products derived from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in collaboration with the North American Sustainable Value Chains team. His/her primary responsibility will focus on managing existing business relationships and engaging new business in order to increase demand for Rainforest Alliance Certified farm products. The Manager will liaise with the broader Sustainable Value Chains, Sustainable Landscapes, Traceability and Communications-Marketing teams to coordinate company activities related to RAC seal use, promotional campaigns and events.
Responsibilities:
- Engage key businesses in Canada to stimulate market demand for certified farm products;
- Manage relationships with key businesses to source and promote RAC cocoa; guide and oversee company strategies in the use of these products, conduct training and workshops for key sales and marketing teams and be the interface with other Rainforest Alliance teams to fulfill the needs of that business relationship;
- Facilitate supply chain linkages for cocoa and facilitate the successful launch of campaigns by companies in coordination with the global SVC and Communications team;
- Serve as a spokesperson for Rainforest Alliance by engaging key opinion leaders and cultivating change agents within the industry;
- Work with the Senior Manager, Sustainable Value Chains, to define and implement a market demand strategy for Rainforest Alliance in the Canadian market;
- Work in collaboration across other departments to coordinate market demand with requisite supply building activities, traceability and use of seal;
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- University degree; preferably in Marketing, Communications, Media or Advertising;
- 7-10 years of experience, demonstrating progressive levels of responsibility in business development, sales, marketing, procurement or supply chain management in a food related industry;
- Excellent written and spoken English, fluent French highly desirable;
- Knowledge and experience of working to further conservation objectives that are aligned to local and or international needs;
- Computer literacy and knowledge of Microsoft Office and Internet;
- Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills;
- Impeccable interpersonal skills and an excellent team player;
- Ability to manage multiple projects at a time and to work with minimum levels of supervision;
- Outstanding organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment;
- Knowledge of tea, cocoa and coffee retail and food commodity industries a significant advantage;
- A passion for sustainability and the environment; understanding and experience of ethical sourcing and certification programs highly desirable;
- Willingness and ability to travel up to 25 percent of the time.
Salary:
Commensurate with experience.
Notes:
Only candidates authorized to work in Canada will be considered for this position.
Application:
Send resume, cover letter, and salary history to Rainforest Alliance, Box 1771, Chelsea, QC, J9B 1A1.
Fax: (866) 438-1971. Email: canpersonnel@ra.org If emailing, use the following format in the subject line: first name and last name, job title of position you are applying for.