CQI Field Evaluation Coordinator for Verité Brewing Better Futures (1369)

COFFEE CORPS

Coffee Quality Institute

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS 1369

CQI FIELD EVALUATION COORDINATOR for VERITÉ BREWING BETTER FUTURES

Post Date: 04/11/2026

Title and Assignment: Field Evaluation Coordinator for Verité Brewing Better Futures project

Location: remote

Start Date and End Date: TBD

Number of CQI Cupping Corps Volunteer Spots Available: TBD, depending on sample availability

Level of effort: 8-12 days (estimated)

ELIGIBILITY

This opportunity is open to Spanish-speaking certified CQI PHP Experts, Professionals, and Instructors based in the Americas.

OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY

CQI has partnered with the independent nonprofit organization Verité to support its farm worker innovation project Brewing Better Futures: Boosting Income and Wellbeing for Coffee Farmers and Workers. The project is designed to evaluate new farm labor innovations in three countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, and Honduras. The innovations will be evaluated for their contributions to farm efficiency and profitability, working conditions, worker motivation and retention, coffee quality, and livelihoods.

CQI is collaborating with Verité and its project partners in each country to evaluate the impact of the project on coffee quality at two points in the supply stream: in the field, where volunteer Field Evaluators will assess the quality of freshly harvested fruit (see CQI Coffee Corps Calls for Volunteers 1370 and 1371) under the direction of a Field Evaluator Coordinator; and in the lab, where members of the CQI Cupping Corps will perform physical analysis of green coffee and sensory evaluation of roasted samples (see CQI Coffee Corps Call for Volunteers 1368). The two sets of quality data will complement one another and provide a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of project interventions on coffee quality than either one might alone.

This CQI Coffee Corps Call for Volunteers 1369 describes the expectations and establishes the terms of reference for the volunteer Field Evaluation Coordinator, including objectives, key activities, deliverables, deadlines, communications, etc.

FIELD-BASED EVALUATION

The results of the lab-based evaluations of project coffees performed by the CQI Cupping Corps will represent important measures of coffee quality, essential in any comprehensive assessment. They will, however, reflect influences on coffee quality extraneous to the farm labor activities undertaken in the project, including environmental conditions, genetics, agronomic management, processing, storage, transport, roasting, etc. The field-based assessments conducted by Field Evaluators under the guidance of the Field Evaluation Coordinator will complement the results of lab-based testing with assessments of freshly harvested coffee fruit, which represents the most direct output of the farm workers who are the subjects of the pilots.

At each participating farm, Field Evaluators will assess the proportion of coffee cherry delivered within established ripeness targets by members of each cohort using a methodology to be developed by the Field Evaluation Coordinator in consultation with project staff, partners, and CQI staff. Results will be submitted to CQI and the Field Evaluation coordinator on a timely basis for collation and analysis.

ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES

The CQI Field Evaluation Coordinator will lead four separate but related processes:

1. Design an evaluation methodology for field-level quality assessments that can be applied across all three participating farms (est. 4-5 days);
2. Train volunteer Field Evaluators in the evaluation methodology remotely (est. 1-2 days);
3. Develop protocols for green coffee sample preparation, coding, and shipment to be applied across all three participating farms (est. 2-3 days); and
4. Collect, collate, and analyze data from all three project sites (12 days).

More detail on key activities, deliverables, and deadlines in support of these four processes is available in the section below.

KEY ACTIVITIES, DELIVERABLES, and DEADLINES

The CQI Field Evaluation Coordinator for the Verité Brewing Better Futures project will:

• Communicate with project staff, farm owners, farm managers, mill operators, exporters, and/or other relevant stakeholders, to map harvest and post-harvest operations in all three project sites; this activity should produce a clear understanding of ripeness targets at each farm as well as the cadence and location of fruit deliveries in each one; incorporate local CQI Field Evaluator volunteer as appropriate in these discussions;
• Develop, in consultation with CQI staff and local CQI Field Evaluator volunteer, a standardized methodology for assessing harvest quality at participating farms across all three countries that is compatible with the operations of all three project partners;
• Take care to ensure that established collection and evaluation protocols are applied to participant and non-participant cohorts alike and minimize selection bias in the sampling process;
• Issue recommendations, based on the results of the mapping exercises and proposed methodology, for locations and schedules for field assessments of fresh fruit deliveries in each country, as well as a target number of samples to be evaluated, securing alignment across project sites;
• Remotely train volunteer Field Evaluators in each country in the methodology to ensure standardization across project sites, including guidance on data collection and submission;
• Receive evaluation data from Field Coordinators in each country, collate, and work with CQI on analysis of results; and
• Agree to perform the above-mentioned activities on a volunteer basis with no remuneration from CQI, Verité, or any other party.

NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

The applicant selected for this volunteer role will be expected to sign a standard non-disclosure agreement to protect against unauthorized disclosure of the identities and confidential or proprietary information from project funders and partners.

COMMUNICATIONS

By submitting an application for this volunteer opportunity, you are authorizing CQI and Verité to identify you and your project role in their public communications. Neither CQI nor Verité will attribute any specific evaluation or work product to you publicly without prior disclosure and consent.