Business Development & Market Manager - WEECAP CIV

TITLE Business Development and Market Manager

LINE MANAGER Competitiveness and Supply Chain Regional Director

COUNTRY Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire

About WEECAP

The Women’s Economic Empowerment through Cashew Processing Program (WEECAP) is a five-year initiative, funded by the Mastercard Foundation, operating in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. WEECAP is transforming the West African cashew sector by aligning inclusion and competitiveness to capture global demand, attract investment, and open up economic opportunities for young women and men.

WEECAP tackles sector bottlenecks by connecting suppliers with strategic buyers, structuring resilient value chains, and mobilizing targeted financial solutions. At the same time, we strengthen the capacity of emerging businesses, help build robust policy frameworks, and foster concrete results through a practical, market-driven approach.

Our ambition: To make the cashew sector a regional engine of competitiveness, value addition, and inclusion.

• Create 330,000 jobs for young women and men through dynamic value chains and growing enterprises
• Mobilize $150 million in new investments through innovative financial solutions and private partnerships

WEECAP acts as a catalyst—aligning supply chains, scaling up promising business models, deploying capital adapted to real business cycles, and supporting policy reforms that unlock sector growth. Inclusion isn’t an afterthought; it’s a lever for performance and market success. Our goal is a modern, competitive, and inclusive industry where women and youth are full economic actors.

Position Overview:

The Business Development Manager will lead strategic efforts to build the competitiveness of West Africa’s cashew processing industry by unlocking market opportunities, developing sustainable business partnerships, and supporting processors to meet quality and certification standards. The role focuses on expanding market access - particularly for high-growth potential processors—through partnerships with international buyers, structured commercial agreements, and inclusive supply chain models.

Ultimately, the Business Development Manager will help translate market opportunities and stronger processor competitiveness into tangible job creation outcomes, particularly for young women and men across the cashew value chain.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

-In collaboration with the Director of Competitiveness, develop a work plan with concrete objectives and a timetable to support the development of processors and producers’ organizations

Market Development and Access

- Build relationships with processors, producer associations and other cashew sector stakeholders

-Identify and facilitate new buyer relationships in domestic, regional, and international markets

-Lead strategic market development for processed cashew kernels and derivative products (e.g., broken pieces, cashew apple, shells,).

- Identify market opportunities with strong potential to generate sustainable jobs for young women and men across the cashew value chain.
- Identify and facilitate new buyer relationships in domestic, regional, and international markets.
- Structure long-term purchasing agreements and sustainable sourcing partnerships with buyers.
- Support processors in obtaining food safety, sustainability certifications and traceability certifications.

Business Partnership Structuring to foster job creation

- Facilitate co-investment models and inclusive partnerships between processors, micro-enterprises, and producer organizations
- Design and implement backward integration strategies linking processors to young women and men-led supply chains.
- Drive inter-firm collaboration and regional alliances to meet volume and quality demands.

- Design and implement backward integration strategies linking processors to young women and men-led supply chains.

Processor Competitiveness Support

-Link processors to integrated business advisory service packages tailored to processor needs.
- Support processors to host international buyer visits and scale sustainable sourcing practices.

-Facilitate co-investment models and inclusive partnerships between processors, micro-enterprises and Producer Organizations (POs).

Market Intelligence and Analysis

-Lead market analysis and intelligence to inform market entry and pricing strategies

-Contribute to market analytics to identify high-return market segments.
- Guide processors on product and marketing diversification strategies and competitive pricing.
- Assess investment opportunities with WEECAP supply chain and access to finance activities for coordinated business support.

Networking and Promotion:

- Represent the project at trade fairs and industry events and provide coaching for processors attending trade fairs and other industry events when necessary
- Build a network of market-ready processors and facilitate matchmaking.
- Collaborate with industry associations and federations to expand sustainable sourcing networks.

Capacity Building

-Support Business Development Service Providers in delivering integrated business advisory packages tailored to processor needs

Qualifications:

- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agribusiness, Economics, or related field. Master's preferred.

Preferred Experience:

- At least 7 years of experience in agribusiness, food processing, or supply chain development.
- Strong knowledge of cashew value chains and buyer networks.
- Success in market access, business to business partnerships, certification, and QMS adoption.

- Experience working with diverse agribusiness firms and producer organizations in West Africa.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and facilitation skills.
- Willingness to travel within WAEMU countries.

Winrock is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal treatment for all people. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by law.

At Winrock we have a clear mission: Empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources through unwavering dedication to accountability, equity, innovation, integrity and transformation.