Unilever Future Leaders Programme – Finance

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 – Finance – 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 degree at the start date of the UFLP per September 1st, 2025.
• A WO master’s degree is required at the beginning of the Finance track.
• 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 Finance UFLP?

By joining the Unilever Future Leaders Finance Programme, we want to show you how finance at Unilever is about so much more than just numbers – the lifeblood of our business – touching every area, informing multi-million-euro decisions, and directly influencing the development, growth, and health of our brands. You will have the opportunity to work across fantastic categories and on some of the world’s most loved brands. Do you have an analytical mindset? Business brain? Aspirations to become a CFO? A career in Financial Management could be right for you.

What do we look for?

It might come as a surprise, but you do not need a specific educational background. We are looking for strong analytical skills, ambition, a talent for influencing people and a real desire to understand how a business operates and succeeds. We are looking for people with a digital mindset and an affinity with business intelligence. Enthusiasm and commitment go a long way. We are looking for our future Financial Management leaders and the limitless opportunity at Unilever creates fully engaging innovative entrepreneurship.

What will the programme involve?

The programme is designed to give you the ability to grow into a Finance professional. You will develop your individual leadership skills by working on projects which offer you the experience you need to be ready for your first management role. Over 3 years, you will take on a variety of roles across our businesses. You will gain experience both in financial and management accounting and you will be business facing, communicating with key contacts within the brand teams.

• The programme gives you a broad array of rotations: you will work in an international environment (even though it might be in the Netherlands) because many of our global and European Finance teams are based in Rotterdam. We have Finance UFLP positions in Global Marketing Finance, European Controlling, Finance Excellence, Local Finance teams, and many more. We make sure to differentiate between the spots, so that you will get a broad array of experiences.
• You will be trusted advisor right across the business and you will be in the thick of influencing strategy and investment decisions from day one. You will be making decisions that directly determine the future of our brands, the way we work with our customers and how we run our supply chain. Our people have the opportunity to make a big impact every day.
• Support and empowerment: We will support you every step of the way to senior management but much of your progress will be up to you. You will need to be focused and ambitious to get where you want, identifying opportunities and taking responsibility for your own development.
• During the 3 years of your programme, you will be learning and developing in the rotations you will be doing, having real responsibility and impact. This development is supported with a learning roadmap full of internal and external training focused on developing your individual leadership skills.

We have an established tradition of developing our own purpose driven leaders and encourage innovative thinking. Future focused feedback and challenging goals drives innovation and ambition within a performance culture and an inclusive and informal environment. We will push you to achieve your potential and make a big business impact where you learn from the best. Firsthand experience – it is the fastest way to learn.