1. Background and Rationale:
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is sending shockwaves through global supply chains for coffee cacao timber rubber soy beef and palm. The Guatemalan cacao sector is preparing to comply. The Alliance team has successfully worked with stakeholders in agricultural value chains particularly in coffee to use open-source technologies that support the use of spatial data deforestation risk scoring and chain-of-custody verification to export verifiably deforestation-free commodities. However this is not fundamentally a technology problem. At its core it is a problem of trust. How can producers cooperatives exporters and supporting institutions collaborate more effectively to face uncertainty about the EUDR and use it as an opportunity to advance their shared interests
This is the purpose of the Trust Framework a structured mediation method for helping value-chain actors recognize their shared interests and consolidate consensus around the need for common interoperable solutions and infrastructures. This consultancy will apply the Trust Framework in the Guatemalan cacao context through a series of semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of stakeholder perspectives paying particular attention to the inclusion of indigenous communities that participate in cacao production. The consultant will also serve as an interface between The Alliance technical teams and stakeholders using open technologies to prepare for shipment of a verifiably deforestation-free container of cacao.
2. Objectives
- Apply the Trust Framework method to the Guatemalan cacao sector to surface shared interests and perceptions related to EUDR compliance.
- Identify and engage representative actors across the cacao value chainincluding producers (indigenous and non-indigenous) cooperatives exporters certifiers regulators and supporting institutions.
- Define a target number of interviews per actor category to ensure representation across the full value chain.
- Conduct approximately 20 semi-structured interviews with appropriate consent recording or transcribing each session to preserve stakeholder language and nuance.
- Conduct a thematic analysis of interview data to identify consensus points divergences and implications for shared digital infrastructure or service design.
- Draft a proposed agenda and program for a multi-stakeholder mediation workshop inviting a cross-section of the cacao value chain to validate findings and build consensus around shared services.
- Serve as a technical liaison between Guatemalan cacao exporters and the CIAT technical team supporting use of open technologies (including WISP and TraceFoodChain) for traceability and deforestation-risk assessment.
Requirements
3. Scope of Work and Tasks
Task 1. Stakeholder Mapping and Sampling Framework:
Identify key actor categories across the cacao value chain (e.g. producers cooperatives exporters certification programs regulators associations NGOs). Ensure inclusion of indigenous communities and local producer organizations. Define sampling targets (e.g. number of interviewees per category) to ensure diverse and representative perspectives.
Task 2. Interview Design and Implementation:
Develop a short semi-structured interview guide using four core Trust Framework questions:
- What are your main concerns about the EU Deforestation Regulation
- Are there products or services that could help mitigate these concerns
- Could any of these products or services be shared across actors in the value chain
- If shared services or infrastructures were to be developed should they be public private or publicprivate
Conduct approximately 20 interviews (in-person or virtual) with consent ensuring appropriate recording and transcription of each session.
Task 3. Thematic Analysis:
Conduct qualitative coding and thematic analysis of all interview transcripts. Identify and document: areas of strong consensus; divergent or contested perspectives; and observations relevant to governance or technical implementation of shared services.
Task 4. Mediation Workshop Program Design:
Develop a recommended workshop agenda and facilitation plan for a multi-stakeholder mediation workshop. Design activities to validate findings build consensus and identify next steps toward shared infrastructures. Include specific recommendations for how to include and work with indigenous communities that participate in the cacao value chain.
Task 5. Technical Liaison with CIAT:
Serve as the point of contact with CIATs technical team supporting cacao exporters in the use of open technologies such as WISP (Whats In That Plot) and TraceFoodChain. Support information flow between exporters and CIAT to enable possible demonstration of a compliant cacao shipment.
4. Deliverables
- Stakeholder Map and Interview Plan Categorized list of actor types sampling rationale and interview schedule.
- Interview Transcripts and Summaries Transcribed or summarized interviews with key quotations preserved.
- Thematic Analysis Report Consolidated findings on consensus divergences and shared service opportunities.
- Mediation Workshop Program Draft agenda participant structure facilitation plan and recommendations for inclusion of indigenous actors.
- Technical Coordination Notes Summary of liaison activities and coordination between CIAT and exporters.
5. Timeline and requirements
- November 2025: Stakeholder mapping and interview guide design.
- NovemberDecember 2025: Conduct interviews record and transcribe ongoing liaison with CIAT.
- December 2025January 2026: Thematic analysis and development of mediation workshop program; final reporting
*Up to 20 consultancy days distributed across stakeholder mapping interviews analysis reporting and coordination with The Alliance*.
Benefits
Place of assignment: Americas Region Guatemala. This is an international search.
Duration of the consultancy: The estimated period for the consultancy is from the signing of the contract (November 2025) until January 2026.
Interested candidates should send the following information to
:
- A technical proposal including a brief statement of no more than two (2) pages of text.
- A Curriculum Vitae including two (2) references.
- A financial proposal that includes at a minimum hourly daily or deliverable-based rates travel expenses and other direct and indirect costs (with an approximate maximum total value of USD 6000).
Application closing date: November 20 2025
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Required Skills:
3. Scope of Work and Tasks Task 1. Stakeholder Mapping and Sampling Framework: Identify key actor categories across the cacao value chain (e.g. producers cooperatives exporters certification programs regulators associations NGOs). Ensure inclusion of indigenous communities and local producer organizations. Define sampling targets (e.g. number of interviewees per category) to ensure diverse and representative perspectives. Task 2. Interview Design and Implementation: Develop a short semi-structured interview guide using four core Trust Framework questions: What are your main concerns about the EU Deforestation Regulation Are there products or services that could help mitigate these concerns Could any of these products or services be shared across actors in the value chain If shared services or infrastructures were to be developed should they be public private or publicprivate Conduct approximately 20 interviews (in-person or virtual) with consent ensuring appropriate recording and transcription of each session. Task 3. Thematic Analysis: Conduct qualitative coding and thematic analysis of all interview transcripts. Identify and document: areas of strong consensus; divergent or contested perspectives; and observations relevant to governance or technical implementation of shared services. Task 4. Mediation Workshop Program Design: Develop a recommended workshop agenda and facilitation plan for a multi-stakeholder mediation workshop. Design activities to validate findings build consensus and identify next steps toward shared infrastructures. Include specific recommendations for how to include and work with indigenous communities that participate in the cacao value chain. Task 5. Technical Liaison with CIAT: Serve as the point of contact with CIATs technical team supporting cacao exporters in the use of open technologies such as WISP (Whats In That Plot) and TraceFoodChain. Support information flow between exporters and CIAT to enable possible demonstration of a compliant cacao shipment. 4. Deliverables Stakeholder Map and Interview Plan Categorized list of actor types sampling rationale and interview schedule. Interview Transcripts and Summaries Transcribed or summarized interviews with key quotations preserved. Thematic Analysis Report Consolidated findings on consensus divergences and shared service opportunities. Mediation Workshop Program Draft agenda participant structure facilitation plan and recommendations for inclusion of indigenous actors. Technical Coordination Notes Summary of liaison activities and coordination between CIAT and exporters. 5. Timeline and requirements November 2025: Stakeholder mapping and interview guide design. NovemberDecember 2025: Conduct interviews record and transcribe ongoing liaison with CIAT. December 2025January 2026: Thematic analysis and development of mediation workshop program; final reporting *Up to 20 consultancy days distributed across stakeholder mapping interviews analysis reporting and coordination with The Alliance*.
Required Education:
3. Scope of Work and Tasks Task 1. Stakeholder Mapping and Sampling Framework: Identify key actor categories across the cacao value chain (e.g. producers cooperatives exporters certification programs regulators associations NGOs). Ensure inclusion of indigenous communities and local producer organizations. Define sampling targets (e.g. number of interviewees per category) to ensure diverse and representative perspectives. Task 2. Interview Design and Implementation: Develop a
1. Background and Rationale:The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is sending shockwaves through global supply chains for coffee cacao timber rubber soy beef and palm. The Guatemalan cacao sector is preparing to comply. The Alliance team has successfully worked with stakeholders in agric...
1. Background and Rationale:
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is sending shockwaves through global supply chains for coffee cacao timber rubber soy beef and palm. The Guatemalan cacao sector is preparing to comply. The Alliance team has successfully worked with stakeholders in agricultural value chains particularly in coffee to use open-source technologies that support the use of spatial data deforestation risk scoring and chain-of-custody verification to export verifiably deforestation-free commodities. However this is not fundamentally a technology problem. At its core it is a problem of trust. How can producers cooperatives exporters and supporting institutions collaborate more effectively to face uncertainty about the EUDR and use it as an opportunity to advance their shared interests
This is the purpose of the Trust Framework a structured mediation method for helping value-chain actors recognize their shared interests and consolidate consensus around the need for common interoperable solutions and infrastructures. This consultancy will apply the Trust Framework in the Guatemalan cacao context through a series of semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of stakeholder perspectives paying particular attention to the inclusion of indigenous communities that participate in cacao production. The consultant will also serve as an interface between The Alliance technical teams and stakeholders using open technologies to prepare for shipment of a verifiably deforestation-free container of cacao.
2. Objectives
- Apply the Trust Framework method to the Guatemalan cacao sector to surface shared interests and perceptions related to EUDR compliance.
- Identify and engage representative actors across the cacao value chainincluding producers (indigenous and non-indigenous) cooperatives exporters certifiers regulators and supporting institutions.
- Define a target number of interviews per actor category to ensure representation across the full value chain.
- Conduct approximately 20 semi-structured interviews with appropriate consent recording or transcribing each session to preserve stakeholder language and nuance.
- Conduct a thematic analysis of interview data to identify consensus points divergences and implications for shared digital infrastructure or service design.
- Draft a proposed agenda and program for a multi-stakeholder mediation workshop inviting a cross-section of the cacao value chain to validate findings and build consensus around shared services.
- Serve as a technical liaison between Guatemalan cacao exporters and the CIAT technical team supporting use of open technologies (including WISP and TraceFoodChain) for traceability and deforestation-risk assessment.
Requirements
3. Scope of Work and Tasks
Task 1. Stakeholder Mapping and Sampling Framework:
Identify key actor categories across the cacao value chain (e.g. producers cooperatives exporters certification programs regulators associations NGOs). Ensure inclusion of indigenous communities and local producer organizations. Define sampling targets (e.g. number of interviewees per category) to ensure diverse and representative perspectives.
Task 2. Interview Design and Implementation:
Develop a short semi-structured interview guide using four core Trust Framework questions:
- What are your main concerns about the EU Deforestation Regulation
- Are there products or services that could help mitigate these concerns
- Could any of these products or services be shared across actors in the value chain
- If shared services or infrastructures were to be developed should they be public private or publicprivate
Conduct approximately 20 interviews (in-person or virtual) with consent ensuring appropriate recording and transcription of each session.
Task 3. Thematic Analysis:
Conduct qualitative coding and thematic analysis of all interview transcripts. Identify and document: areas of strong consensus; divergent or contested perspectives; and observations relevant to governance or technical implementation of shared services.
Task 4. Mediation Workshop Program Design:
Develop a recommended workshop agenda and facilitation plan for a multi-stakeholder mediation workshop. Design activities to validate findings build consensus and identify next steps toward shared infrastructures. Include specific recommendations for how to include and work with indigenous communities that participate in the cacao value chain.
Task 5. Technical Liaison with CIAT:
Serve as the point of contact with CIATs technical team supporting cacao exporters in the use of open technologies such as WISP (Whats In That Plot) and TraceFoodChain. Support information flow between exporters and CIAT to enable possible demonstration of a compliant cacao shipment.
4. Deliverables
- Stakeholder Map and Interview Plan Categorized list of actor types sampling rationale and interview schedule.
- Interview Transcripts and Summaries Transcribed or summarized interviews with key quotations preserved.
- Thematic Analysis Report Consolidated findings on consensus divergences and shared service opportunities.
- Mediation Workshop Program Draft agenda participant structure facilitation plan and recommendations for inclusion of indigenous actors.
- Technical Coordination Notes Summary of liaison activities and coordination between CIAT and exporters.
5. Timeline and requirements
- November 2025: Stakeholder mapping and interview guide design.
- NovemberDecember 2025: Conduct interviews record and transcribe ongoing liaison with CIAT.
- December 2025January 2026: Thematic analysis and development of mediation workshop program; final reporting
*Up to 20 consultancy days distributed across stakeholder mapping interviews analysis reporting and coordination with The Alliance*.
Benefits
Place of assignment: Americas Region Guatemala. This is an international search.
Duration of the consultancy: The estimated period for the consultancy is from the signing of the contract (November 2025) until January 2026.
Interested candidates should send the following information to
:
- A technical proposal including a brief statement of no more than two (2) pages of text.
- A Curriculum Vitae including two (2) references.
- A financial proposal that includes at a minimum hourly daily or deliverable-based rates travel expenses and other direct and indirect costs (with an approximate maximum total value of USD 6000).
Application closing date: November 20 2025
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Required Skills:
3. Scope of Work and Tasks Task 1. Stakeholder Mapping and Sampling Framework: Identify key actor categories across the cacao value chain (e.g. producers cooperatives exporters certification programs regulators associations NGOs). Ensure inclusion of indigenous communities and local producer organizations. Define sampling targets (e.g. number of interviewees per category) to ensure diverse and representative perspectives. Task 2. Interview Design and Implementation: Develop a short semi-structured interview guide using four core Trust Framework questions: What are your main concerns about the EU Deforestation Regulation Are there products or services that could help mitigate these concerns Could any of these products or services be shared across actors in the value chain If shared services or infrastructures were to be developed should they be public private or publicprivate Conduct approximately 20 interviews (in-person or virtual) with consent ensuring appropriate recording and transcription of each session. Task 3. Thematic Analysis: Conduct qualitative coding and thematic analysis of all interview transcripts. Identify and document: areas of strong consensus; divergent or contested perspectives; and observations relevant to governance or technical implementation of shared services. Task 4. Mediation Workshop Program Design: Develop a recommended workshop agenda and facilitation plan for a multi-stakeholder mediation workshop. Design activities to validate findings build consensus and identify next steps toward shared infrastructures. Include specific recommendations for how to include and work with indigenous communities that participate in the cacao value chain. Task 5. Technical Liaison with CIAT: Serve as the point of contact with CIATs technical team supporting cacao exporters in the use of open technologies such as WISP (Whats In That Plot) and TraceFoodChain. Support information flow between exporters and CIAT to enable possible demonstration of a compliant cacao shipment. 4. Deliverables Stakeholder Map and Interview Plan Categorized list of actor types sampling rationale and interview schedule. Interview Transcripts and Summaries Transcribed or summarized interviews with key quotations preserved. Thematic Analysis Report Consolidated findings on consensus divergences and shared service opportunities. Mediation Workshop Program Draft agenda participant structure facilitation plan and recommendations for inclusion of indigenous actors. Technical Coordination Notes Summary of liaison activities and coordination between CIAT and exporters. 5. Timeline and requirements November 2025: Stakeholder mapping and interview guide design. NovemberDecember 2025: Conduct interviews record and transcribe ongoing liaison with CIAT. December 2025January 2026: Thematic analysis and development of mediation workshop program; final reporting *Up to 20 consultancy days distributed across stakeholder mapping interviews analysis reporting and coordination with The Alliance*.
Required Education:
3. Scope of Work and Tasks Task 1. Stakeholder Mapping and Sampling Framework: Identify key actor categories across the cacao value chain (e.g. producers cooperatives exporters certification programs regulators associations NGOs). Ensure inclusion of indigenous communities and local producer organizations. Define sampling targets (e.g. number of interviewees per category) to ensure diverse and representative perspectives. Task 2. Interview Design and Implementation: Develop a
Job Location:
Monthly Salary:
Experience Required:
Posted on:
9 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
