Interim Head of 5 Sourcing Principles, Tony’s Open Chain

Interim Head of 5 Sourcing Principles, Tony’s Open Chain

Job description

Why we are here

Tony’s Open Chain (TOC) is an industry-led initiative dedicated to empowering chocolate brands to revolutionize their cocoa supply chains and lead the way in sustainability. By becoming Mission Allies of Tony's Open Chain, brands or retailers make a commitment to the five sourcing principles – traceability, higher prices, long-term commitments, strong farmer partnerships, and enhanced quality and productivity - with the ultimate goal to end exploitation in cocoa. To facilitate the participation of Mission Allies in Tony's Open Chain, we work with a growing set of chocolate processors to facilitate the sourcing of Tony’s Open Chain beans for the products of our Mission Allies.

Among the Mission Allies who have already committed to sourcing cocoa through Tony's Open Chain are Tony’s Chocolonely, Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Hema, ALDI, Jokolade, Vly Foods, The Flower Farm, PLUS, KoRo Source, Feastables, Ben & Jerry's, Waitrose, Pip&Nut, Huel and Cococo. Together, we are forging a path toward a more sustainable and ethical cocoa industry. Join us in making a difference through Tony's Open Chain!

What you will do

We're on the lookout for an exceptional interim Head of 5 Sourcing Principles (5SP) for Tony’s Open Chain (TOC) team. You will be covering a maternity leave of approximately 9 months starting in August 2025 and be based together with our TOC team in Amsterdam.

As the interim Head of 5SP, you will ensure that Tony’s Open Chain’s impact programs in West Africa are recognized as world-class. With the spirit of a pragmatic idealist you will assess, evaluate, and improve our ongoing 5SP programs, while also bringing in new and fresh ideas on how TOC can raise the bar with our impact programs. You will carry overall responsibility for 5SP program and budget design and implementation, ensuring alignment with TOC Mission Ally pricing. As the interim Head of 5SP, you will ensure TOC delivers key promises while raising the bar for the cocoa industry, ultimately achieving high impact on a wider scale.

As the interim Head of the 5SP team, you will join the TOC leadership team and collaborate closely with other TOC leaders, West African teams, partner co-ops as well as other industry experts. You will lead a 5SP team of five professionals, each an expert in their respective sourcing principle area and working closely with our teams and partner co-ops in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. You will ensure your team members are engaged and performing in their roles to deliver world-class impact on all key promises. This will ultimately move the needle by positively impacting farmers and their communities in West Africa, closing the living income gap, ending child labor, and making a forest-positive impact.

All wrapped up, you will be responsible for

• Ensure the 5SP approach goes above and beyond industry standards and norms for preventing illegal and harmful practices present in the West African context; stay up to date with the industry and adapt our 5SP approach when needed
• Represent TOC at the industry-level, build fruitful partnerships, learn from others and share best practices
• Actively contribute to TOC leadership work and shape the overall TOC strategic vision, balancing a viable commercial business with maximum impact for farmers in West Africa
• Align the targets and results of the overall 5SP program with the three core objectives: reaching a living income, eradicating illegal forms of labor, and preventing deforestation, and addressing the root cause of these challenges: poverty
• Set and manage the overall 5SP team budget in line with the long (3-5 years) and short term (1 year; quarter) planning
• Balance the credibility and impact of TOC with a healthy and scalable cost-benefit ratio
• Lead the 5SP team: Set clear direction for the team ensuring that all team members are aligned and working towards common goals
• Build relationships: Foster strong connections and create buy-in with both internal and external stakeholders, including Mission Allies and West African co-ops
• Travel to West Africa to connect with the TOC team at least once during the interim period

Job requirements

• Extensive cocoa and/or community experience, preferably in West Africa
• Field-level program implementation experience in a developing country or within tropical commodity area
• Previous leadership experience: preferably as an interim with the ability to take over teams and their coaching quickly and experience in leading high performing, engaged, and happy teams
• Ability to balance ideals and real-world constraints; you are a pragmatic idealist at heart
• Strong business understanding and strategic mindset: Ability to see the big picture, but not afraid to roll up your sleeves to ensure brilliant execution
• Financial and P&L literacy
• Fluency in both French and English
• Master’s degree or equivalent level of experience in a relevant topic
• Eagerness to work in a fast-paced scaleup environment
• Commitment to Tony’s purpose.
• We are all about being more in person than apart; this means we offer flexibility but see each other in the Amsterdam office on average 3 days a week. More is fine too!

Our benefits (the icing on the cake)

At Tony's you will get the opportunity to be part of something extraordinary; first and foremost, by making real impact in the world but also enjoying the nice benefits we provide as you help us succeed. We’re dedicated to enabling all Tonys to grow and develop their careers and therefore we offer training programs, regular feedback cycles and coaching. We also offer a wide range of additional benefits, including a luxurious vega-lunch, minimum of 28 annual holidays, inspirational team updates, unforgettable events and unlimited chocolate. But we also know chocolate won’t cover the bills, so we’ve made sure your salary is just as rewarding, for this role that means a monthly salary between 6 700€ and 8 400€ depending on your experience and seniority.

Sounds like you?

Are you passionate about making a difference in the world? Look no further! If you're ready to take the chocolate industry to new heights with us, we'd love to hear from you! Please send your direct application, no agencies. We can't wait to hear from you!

Everybody is welcome to apply. From classics to limited editions, we know that different flavors make life more inspiring. And not just in our chocolate assortment. At Tony’s, we welcome everyone with equal enthusiasm – regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability or veteran status. Crazy about chocolate, serious about people.