Job Description

Cooperative/Business Development Expert

EU-Funded Oil Palm Value Chains Improvement Project (led by FAO), Sierra Leone

About the Opportunity

Solidaridad Network West Africa is seeking experienced Cooperative/Business Development Expert to support the organizational strengthening, governance and commercial development of farmer cooperatives participating in the EU-funded Oil Palm Value Chains Improvement Project. The position will focus on helping cooperatives become better governed, financially viable, market-oriented and capable of delivering sustainable services to their members.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of cooperative-strengthening and business-development activities.
• Conduct or coordinate organizational, governance and capacity assessments of farmer groups and cooperatives.
• Prepare cooperative capacity-development plans and support formation, registration and formalization of eligible cooperatives.
• Facilitate development and review of cooperative by-laws, governance structures, roles and decision-making processes.
• Strengthen the capacity of boards, management committees, staff and members in leadership, accountability, participation, recordkeeping and internal controls.
• Facilitate development, review and validation of cooperative business plans.
• Support business diagnostics, product and market assessment, aggregation, service provision and collective marketing.
• Support development of standard operating procedures, management tools, budgeting and financial-management systems.
• Facilitate linkages with banks, microfinance institutions, buyers, input suppliers, service providers and other business partners.
• Assist cooperatives to prepare documentation for financing and commercial agreements.
• Support negotiation of market-linkage arrangements and drafting of partnership or supply agreements.
• Promote transparent systems for pricing, weighing, quality control, aggregation and payment.
• Promote meaningful inclusion of women, youth and marginalized groups in cooperative leadership and business activities.
• Conduct follow-up visits, prepare technical reports and contribute to project monitoring, learning and reporting.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in cooperative development, business administration, agribusiness, agricultural economics, rural development, accounting, finance or a related field.
• At least five years of relevant experience in cooperative development, agribusiness, enterprise development or rural financial services.
• Demonstrated experience supporting farmer cooperatives, producer organizations, SMEs or community-based enterprises.
• Practical knowledge of cooperative governance, registration, by-laws, board development and member accountability.
• Experience facilitating business-plan preparation, business diagnostics and enterprise improvement.
• Knowledge of financial literacy, bookkeeping, budgeting and internal-control systems.
• Experience facilitating market access, collective marketing, buyer engagement or commercial partnerships.
• Experience delivering participatory training and coaching.
• Fluency in English; knowledge of Krio and relevant local languages is desirable; willingness to travel extensively to field locations.

Core Competencies

• Cooperative governance and institutional development.
• Business planning, enterprise support and financial literacy.
• Market and partnership development.
• Training, facilitation, coaching and participatory rural engagement.
• Analytical skills, negotiation, integrity and gender-responsive programming.

What success looks like

The position will be expected to demonstrate:

• Completion and quality of cooperative assessments and capacity-development plans.
• Number of cooperatives supported to improve governance, registration or compliance.
• Quality and implementation of cooperative business plans, by-laws, management tools and SOPs.
• Improvements in financial records, internal controls and service delivery.
• Number and quality of finance and market linkages facilitated.
• Timeliness and quality of technical reports and supporting documentation.

Common Employment and Safeguarding Statement

Solidaridad Network West Africa is an equal-opportunity employer. Recruitment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications, experience and organizational requirements, without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, age, marital status, pregnancy, political opinion, sexual orientation or other protected status.

All successful candidates will be required to comply with Solidaridad’s policies and procedures, including its code of conduct, safeguarding, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, anti-fraud, anti-corruption, confidentiality, health and safety, and data-protection requirements. Employment will be subject to satisfactory reference checks and any other pre-employment screening required by the organization.

We encourage applications from qualified women, young professionals and persons with disabilities who meet the requirements of the job.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit:

• A cover letter explaining their suitability for the position.
• An updated CV, including contact details for at least three professional referees.
• Copies of relevant academic and professional certificates, where requested.

Applications should be submitted to vacancies.GH@solidaridadnetwork.org by 6 November 2026, using the position title as the email subject line. Applicants must clearly indicate the district in Sierra Leone for which they are applying from.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.