Tradin Sierra Leone, the local arm of Tradin Organic Agriculture, is hiring a Consultant Project Manager to run its donor funded technical assistance programmes out of Kenema. Tradin Organic sources over 150 certified organic products from more than 60 countries, and TSL has been buying and exporting Sierra Leonean organic cocoa since 2014, working with roughly 18,000 smallholder farmers organised into 10 cooperatives across the east of the country.
This is a consultancy role, not a permanent staff position, and it sits at the centre of a technical assistance portfolio worth 3.6 million euro, most of it built around Dynamic Agroforestry, a regenerative farming approach that mixes cocoa with other crops and trees.
Key Details
The contract runs for an initial 12 months, renewable depending on performance, organisational need, and continued funding. The base is Kenema, with frequent travel to Freetown, and the role reports jointly to the General Manager of TSL and the Manager of Funded Programs at headquarters in Amsterdam.
Applications close on 14 September 2026. Candidates apply by sending a CV and cover letter to info@afriqia-solutions.com, with "Project Manager" in the subject line.
Eligibility and Requirements
The listing is open to both national and international candidates, though it flags that people with strong knowledge of, or professional experience in, Sierra Leone are particularly encouraged to apply. A bachelor's or master's degree in project management, international development, business administration, agribusiness or agriculture is expected, along with a track record of managing complex donor funded programmes, including budgets in the multi million dollar range.
Beyond the programme management side, the role calls for experience mobilising resources, meaning identifying funding opportunities and writing concept notes, proposals, budgets and results frameworks, plus a demonstrated ability to lead teams and coordinate across donors, government bodies, consultants and cross functional colleagues. Familiarity with agriculture, agroforestry or rural development work is listed as an advantage rather than a requirement, as is prior exposure to Sierra Leone or a similar operating context.
What the Role Covers
Around 80% of the position is programme management, covering the EU and AJF Agroforestry initiatives and Farm4EU. That means translating donor commitments into work plans, tracking delivery against timelines, overseeing multi million dollar budgets in coordination with the Amsterdam finance team, and stepping in with corrective action when activities start to slip.
The remaining 20% is external relationship management, expected to take up one to three working days a month in Freetown. That side of the job involves building the pipeline of future funding opportunities, contributing to proposals and business cases, and supporting the General Manager in maintaining relationships with Sierra Leonean government ministries, development partners and other public institutions, including representing TSL directly in selected meetings.
The role also carries responsibility for programme data, meaning farmer, plot and geospatial information stays accurate and centralised enough to support donor reporting and internal decisions, and for people management, since the Project Manager leads the staff and consultants delivering the technical and operational side of the programmes.
Application Process
There is no separate portal for this one. Interested candidates send a CV and cover letter directly to info@afriqia-solutions.com with the subject line "Project Manager" before the 14 September 2026 deadline. The listing does not mention interview stages or further steps beyond that submission.
Major Considerations
This is a consultancy rather than a permanent role, so continuation past the initial 12 months depends on performance, organisational requirements and whether funding holds up, which is worth weighing for anyone comparing it against a longer term staff position elsewhere. The split between programme delivery and external representation also means the successful candidate needs to be comfortable operating at two different registers, hands on budget and data oversight most of the time, and donor or government facing representation on a recurring basis.
Should You Apply?
This suits someone who already has real experience running donor funded programmes end to end, from work planning through to budget oversight and reporting, and who is equally comfortable writing a proposal as managing the team delivering against one. Sierra Leone experience is not mandatory but is called out as a plus, so candidates with local context or comparable West African experience have an edge.
It is less suited to someone looking for their first programme management role, given the scale of the budgets and the seniority implied by leading staff, consultants and donor relationships simultaneously.
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