Technical Executive - Cocoa Operations

About the role

The Technical Executive - Cocoa Operations role at Mondelēz International in Dharapuram, India, supports the Cocoa-Life mission by building sustainable cocoa sourcing strategies and improving livelihoods in cocoa communities. Day-to-day, you will manage nurseries, track and report KPIs, conduct field education on cocoa cultivation and good agricultural practices, coordinate third-party procurement and bean dispatch, liaise with government and research institutions, and implement sustainability initiatives. The position requires extensive field travel across farms.

What you’ll do

• Manage day-to-day nursery operations, ensuring processes are strictly followed and the cocoa nursery is well-tended
• Track KPIs and regularly report on progress to support benchmarking and performance improvement
• Conduct field education on cocoa cultivation, why cocoa should be planted, good agricultural practices (GAP), and sustainability initiatives such as training women, drip irrigation, and supporting mar
• Coordinate with third-party buying partners on a commission-per-kilo basis, receive and account for cocoa deliveries at collection sites, monitor bean quality against requirements, manage documentatio
• Train farmers on post-harvest and quality management, and support cocoa area development including farmer identification and new area identification
• Work with government officials in horticulture and agriculture departments to implement cocoa programs, and coordinate with FSSAI and other licenses as required
• Collect data for crop forecasting and market intelligence to support pricing decisions, and support research projects with institutions such as Kerala Agriculture University and CPCRI
• Drive digital onboarding of farmers, polygon mapping of farms, and use digital tools for procurement, while implementing sustainability and safety initiatives

What you’ll bring

• BSc. Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, or MSc in Botany (or a Diploma in Agriculture as exceptional talent)
• Knowledge of South Indian languages, ideally Telugu and Hindi, is essential
• Hands-on knowledge of agriculture with a commercial orientation
• Strong analytics and process discipline
• Communication with strong interpersonal and influencing skills
• Ability to work alone and independently without direct supervision
• Practical field readiness and willingness to undertake extensive field visits involving travel to farms
• 0–4 years of experience in agriculture, horticulture, or a related field (freshers welcome)

Skills

Education

BSc. Agriculture/ Horticulture/Forestry or MSc in Botany