Culinary Innovation Chef

Job Details

Job purpose

Are you a culinary visionary with a passion for creating innovative food products? Do you thrive on solving consumer problems and bringing delicious solutions to the market? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you! As an Innovation Chef, you will be at the forefront of product development, independently leading projects and culinary initiatives within the Global condiments vertical. Your curiosity about consumer needs and your ability to combine culinary trends, nutritional, technical, and market knowledge will drive the creation of products that consumers love. While your expertise is crucial, the focus remains on developing exceptional products that meet consumer needs. You'll also leverage modern communication channels to captivate and engage our audience. Stay ahead of trends, set new culinary standards, and bring your innovative ideas to life in a way that resonates with Gen Z and beyond. You’ll be part of a team that believes in doing work that matters—for people and the planet. Because here, we don’t just hire for jobs. We invite you to be part of something bigger.

Why join us? This role presents an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about all things culinary, understands consumers and customers, and is eager to guide new product development.

You will be the culinary expertise within the global condiments team when it comes to marketing and customer service presentations, focusing on culinary, product taste, and benefits. However, the true star of the show will always be the exceptional products you help create. Join us and be a key player in shaping the future of culinary innovation!

Key responsibilities

• Program Co-Creation: Collaborate with R&D and Marketing Vertical Leads, Technical Project Leaders (TPLs), Marketing (MKT), Consumer Market Insights (CMI), Consumer Technical Insights (CTI), and Customer Sales and Planning (CSP) to co-create product innovation and rejuvenation pipelines within the Foods EU business and external partners in our Partner to Win program.
• Product Development: Translate consumer problems and needs into winning products. Lead independently the development process with a focus on taste and consumer benefits. Create prototypes using new differentiating technologies and test them in consumer- and culinary-relevant ways.
• Innovation Leadership: Be at the core of the team that thinks three steps ahead, boldly and creatively, to build an innovation funnel for Foods. Anticipate and stay ahead of consumer needs and external trends.
• Culinary Excellence: Develop impactful demos and lead customer sessions focused on taste and product benefits. Create culinary briefs and gold standards and co-create technical prototypes for both innovation and renovation.
• Trend Analysis: Stay on top of culinary trends and integrate them into the strategic development of the product portfolio.
• Social Media Expertise: Must be familiar with trendy social media platforms, stay updated with current trends, and have the ability to create engaging TikTok-style social content. This skill is essential for effectively communicating contemporary culinary practices and modern cooking techniques to Gen Z audiences (TikToking).
• Best Practices Implementation: Ensure the implementation of best practices like Culinary Scoping, Culinary Briefs, and Market Development Models for the condiments vertical.
• Training and Presentations: Present demos, projects and execute customized training for different target groups (Marketing, Sales, R&D, and Senior Stakeholders) on culinary principles, product application and benefits, culinary insights, and food safety and hygiene.
• Showcases and Events: Organize and execute tasting sessions, showcases, presentations, and degustation events internally and with business partners in a professional and self-confident manner.
• Consumer and Customer Activations: Lead consumer and customer activations, such as PR events, trade shows, culinary promotions, food photography, and back-of-pack recipes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work within multi-disciplinary project teams to drive innovation and renovation projects.

Required qualifications

• Proven experience in culinary arts, product development, and presentations.
• Strong understanding of consumer needs and market trends.
• Ability to independently lead product development projects.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Passion for culinary excellence and innovations.

Key requirements

• Collaboration: Open, respectful, inclusive team player with strong communication skills.
• Leadership: Lead initiatives independently and collaborate across verticals.
• Consumer Insight: Deep understanding of consumer product usage and culinary preferences.
• Analytical Skills: Translate consumer habits into product attributes.
• Passion for Food: Enthusiastic about creating new products with a focus on taste and quality.
• Adaptability: Thrive in a fast-paced, multi-functional, and multi-cultural environment.
• Eagerness to Learn: Willingness to learn and develop through feedback.
• Ambition and drive to bring culinary chefmanship to the next level.

Critical Unilever Leadership Behaviours

• Focus on what counts: We prioritize what truly matters, setting clear and stretching goals. We aim to shift from having everything as a priority to focusing on what we have within our control and delivery through to conclusion.
• Deliver with Excellence: The emphasis is on delivering everything with excellence and pace, taking personal ownership, and holding each other accountable. We aim to shift from pride in thinking to pride in expertise where people are empowered and encouraged to make risk assessed decisions to break through roadblocks and ensure the best results.
• Stay 3 steps ahead: We encourage bold and creative thinking to make breakthroughs and anticipate consumer needs.
• Care deeply: We care about how as a capability we support and delivery results for our consumers.