Did you know that almost half of the children living in cocoa-growing areas in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are estimated to be involved in child labour?

Despite progress being made within the cocoa sector, the prevalence of this issue continues to be of great concern. One group on a mission to tackle this is the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI); a dedicated Foundation working together with its partners to improve the lives of children and adults at risk of child or forced labour within cocoa-growing communities.

Early last year, we were honoured when the ICI asked us to support with their search for a new Executive Director to provide visionary leadership so that the Foundation can achieve its objectives with emphasis on catalysing a responsible cocoa supply chain, a supportive and enabling environment, as well as a scaled-up, coordinated and coherent multi-stakeholder effort through innovation and learning, technical advocacy and capacity building.

So, who is the ICI?

A Swiss non-profit foundation that wants a better future for children in cocoa-growing communities. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that unites the forces of the cocoa and chocolate industry, civil society, farming communities, governments, international organisations and donors to promote human rights, and to tackle child labour in the cocoa supply chain.

Why is the ICI uniquely positioned to drive change in the cocoa sector?

• Its sphere of influence, pool of expertise and network of partners; and

• It has been working in cocoa-growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana for 14 years, during which it has helped advance quantified progress in the fight against child labour in cocoa.

What impact has the ICI had so far?

• Its direct actions have improved child protection for more than 422,000 children between 2015 and 2020;

• Its approaches have led to a 20-30% reduction in child labour in ICI-assisted communities; and

• It has spearheaded a 50% reduction in hazardous child labour amongst at-risk children identified by ICI’s monitoring systems.

We’re sure this explains a bit about the importance of this search, and the ICI’s need to find the best person for the position – someone who can bring the ICI’s mission and vision to life, someone who embodies the ICI’s core values, and someone who has the leadership skills required to drive meaningful change and deliver measurable impact.

How does Acre support a foundation like the ICI to fill such a prominent position?

At Acre, we recognise that our obligations stem far beyond merely placing people in jobs. We work with the most aspirational clients, like ICI, with the potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.

We start by telling their story.

Regardless of how well-known a client’s brand may or may not be, the sustainability space is evolving at an exponential pace, and the candidate market is more competitive than ever before. With an assignment as important as this one, we needed to ensure that candidates were aware of just how impactful the ICI’s sustainability journey has been so far, and how far it can go.

We offered the ICI a platform to publicise their important work, and our in-house design team created a bespoke information package for prospective candidates. This highly visual document not only allowed us to bring the ICI’s vision to life, but it helped to demonstrate the time and effort that the ICI was putting into finding the right person – particularly during a year where the hesitancy to leave an existing role or re-locate was heightened.