Unilever Future Leaders Programme –Customer Development

Our Future Leaders Programme will ignite the leader in you. This unique programme is designed to develop Unilever’s Future Leaders (UFL) by providing challenging and purposeful opportunities that accelerate their readiness to take on business leadership roles.

Unilever Future Leaders Programme –Customer Development – Netherlands

The Unilever Future Leaders Programme, or as we call it “UFLP”, is a 3-year traineeship programme that gives you the opportunity to develop yourself into an experienced future-fit professional. Bring your enthusiasm, curiosity and innovative ideas to the table and start your learning journey at Unilever as a UFLP.

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) businesses. We reach 3.4 billion consumers a day and we have 128.000 employees globally.

We make products that people love – and that make a difference, Nutritious foods, Household care essentials, Luxurious shampoos... and many more. Shoppers buy them in more than 190 countries. That means you’ll find at least one of our products in seven out of ten households on the planet. And we want every one of those products to make a positive impact on the lives of the people through our brands, our commercial operations and relationships, through voluntary contributions, and through the various other ways in which we engage with society.

Requirements for application

• Eligibility to work in the Netherlands before the start of the UFLP programme (employment) per 1st of September 2025. *
• You have obtained your Master’s/Bachelor’s degree at the start date of the UFLP per September 1, 2025.
• A HBO/WO degree is required at the beginning of the Customer Development track.
• Dutch language is preferred but not required.
• We recommend that you only apply with a maximum of 5 years of experience to get the best out of the traineeship. **
• Our Discovery Center Days take place at our Rotterdam office and will be heldbetween April 1st – April 20th. It is not possible to join this day online.

What will you be doing as a Customer Development UFLP?

By joining the Unilever Future Leaders Customer Development Programme, we want to show you the full range of our Sales departments, which can vary from job rotations in all parts of Customer Development (Key Account Management, Category Management, Field Sales, E-Commerce, and Fast Delivery). During the three-year traineeship, you will learn and build holistic experience in multiple aspects of the commercial part of our organization, for instance by developing deep category knowledge and building true customer relationships. The limitless opportunities at Unilever allow you to broadly develop yourself as a (business) leader.

For example, in one job rotation, you could be building partnerships with our customers, which may include supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores, discounters, online retailers, and even theme parks. You would work together closely with your customer to maximize a new product launch, recommending the right range of products, negotiating an annual business plan, or looking for new business opportunities. Within Sales the focus lays on maintaining a healthy relationship with your counterparts.

In another job rotation, you could be working on the category strategy for one or more customers. After diving into market data you would be sharing your objective insights on how the market is performing, informing the customer with valuable category and consumer insights. In this role you could be advising the customer and Key Account Management colleagues on a customer-fit portfolio and promotion strategy.

What do we look for?

It might come as a surprise, but you do not need a specific educational background – this is a programme in which your personality will set you apart. It takes a special blend of ambition, people skills and commercial acumen. You will need creative business thinking to succeed and get the best out of every situation.

You will need to be credible and confident in front of people, have a critical mindset, and have a passion for growing businesses, coupled with the power to influence and negotiate.

It takes commercial talent, strong business skills and consumer love to actually make things happen. It takes logic, ambition, strong organizational skills, and an understanding of how businesses operate to succeed within this programme. You bring a digital mindset and will be tackling business challenges in an agile and disruptive manner and you can expand your mind to think as a consumer. You have a passion for sustainability, and you believe that businesses with purpose last.

What will the programme involve?

The programme is designed to give you the ability to grow into a commercial manager, through hands-on learning alongside world-class experts. You will develop your individual leadership skills by working on real jobs from the start. You will have at least three rotations within the programme; these will give you a wide range of experiences in a broad range of dynamic and exciting areas of the business:

• The UFLP Customer Development traineeship is a combination of rotations within our different Customer Development teams, which will mainly consist of sales roles, including Key Account ManagemenE-commerce and Category Management elements.
• During the programme, you receive on-going development through a learning plan to build your personal skills and leadership but also functional learning opportunities through our sales academy. Next to this, each UFLP trainee is assigned a mentor to guide you through the 3-year programme.
• We sell millions of products to consumers every day. That is why every UFLP will start their career joining our Field Force team. You will learn all about our consumers and customers, in retail (Supermarkets), in Food Solutions (Chefs in Restaurants) and in Out of Home (all other outlets like gas stations & theme parks). It is a great opportunity to really get to know the other “Future Leaders”.
• During the 3 years of the programme, you will have real responsibilities and you will get the opportunity to make an impact. Your development is supported with a leadership journey of internal and external training focused on developing your leadership, personal, and sales skills.

This programme will push you to achieve your potential and make a real business impact. Firsthand experience – it is the fastest way to learn.