JOB opportunity

Cacao & Product Manager

Location: Tuqtuquilal, Lanquín, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Type: Full-time | In-person

Tuqtuquilal is seeking a detail-oriented, quality-driven, and innovative Cacao & Product Manager to oversee the entire lifecycle of our regeneratively grown cacao and related products. You will play a key role in maintaining our reputation for excellence by ensuring that our cacao and other medicinal food products are consistently high-quality, delicious, and deeply aligned with our mission to support indigenous farming communities and ecological wellbeing.

Key Responsibilities

Cacao Sourcing & Processing

  • Manage cash and coordinate biweekly cacao baba purchases from families in the Red Ratzum network during harvest seasons. Maintain positive relationships with the farmer families.

  • Oversee transportation, payments, and tracking of cacao quantities, weights, and quality from purchase through final product.

  • Ensure optimal fermentation conditions and oversee entire fermentation process; assess readiness for drying.

  • Supervise the drying process, ensuring cacao is free from mold and consistently dried.

  • Maintain and improve our cacao tracking and storage system to ensure accountability and freshness.

Toasting & Transformation

  • Define and standardize best practices for toasting cacao (temperature, timing, and technique) to achieve ideal flavor profiles.

  • Oversee peeling, grinding, and packaging, ensuring minimal blooming and maximum shelf-life.

  • Supervise bottling and stabilization of cacao juice, ensuring flavor, consistency, and transportability.

Product Development & Quality Assurance

  • Continuously assess the taste, texture, and quality of all products. Success means customers love the flavor and keep coming back.

  • Lead product development, experimenting with new cacao formats and complementary offerings.

  • Manage inventory and purchasing of additional ingredients from the Red Ratzum (turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, copal, etc.).

  • Innovate new products using herbs, spices, and crops from our network to expand our customer base and product line.

Success in This Role Looks Like:

  • Our cacao is known for its exceptional flavor and quality.

  • Customers regularly return and rave about the taste.

  • Our production processes are smooth, traceable, and well-documented.

  • New, well-loved products emerge from the thoughtful use of our network’s abundant resources.

  • Our values of regenerative agriculture, indigenous collaboration, and ecological harmony are honored at every stage of production.

Ideal Candidate Will Have:

  • Experience in cacao or food production, post-harvest handling, or artisanal processing

  • Strong organizational and project management skills

  • Passion for regenerative agriculture, indigenous foodways, and quality craftsmanship

  • Creative mindset for product development and continuous improvement

  • A refined palate and high standards for delicious tastes.

  • Comfort with data tracking, inventories, and managing multiple processes simultaneously

  • Spanish proficiency (Q’eqchi’ or local language knowledge a plus)

Exchange:

  • A private cabin to live in at Tuqtuquilal

  • All meals provided

  • A monthly salary on par with standard local rates for managers

To Apply:

  • Send an email to tuqtuquilal@gmail.com with an explanation why would be the best fit for this role. Please share your experiences, skills, and personal values alignment to our project. If we think it’s a good potential fit, we will reach out to set up a video call interview.