EU R&D Assistant R&D Manager (UPro)

Join Unilever as an EU R&D Assistant / R&D Manager (UPro)

ABOUT UNILEVER

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.  

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.  

We want our business to flourish, and we know that our success depends on others flourishing around us. That's why our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace, and why sustainable, long-term growth is at the heart of our business model.

JOB PURPOSE

Be an active & dynamic team member in the Unilever Professional business in Europe

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods. Our products are sold in over 190 countries and used by 2 billion consumers every day.  People know us by our brands which include Dove, Suave, Axe, Knorr, Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream and many other brands.

Unilever Professional (UPro) is a new Business-to-Business group within Unilever that has a very ambitious growth and sustainability agenda. Making Clean and Cleaners Matter is at the heart of UPro, and R&D has a pivotal role to play in developing impactful global innovations and renovations that delight our end users and provide us with a source of competitive advantage. New product development is an integral part of R&D, integrating with the other various R&D functions as well as other functions such as Marketing, Supply Chain and Category Development. We create cleaning products that deliver unique solutions to our operator’s needs, with superior product performance that delight our operators.

This role presents an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about deploying new and better cleaning solutions which better meet our operators needs and drive profitable growth for our UPro business.

If you have a passion for developing products, managing projects, enjoying teamwork, and for being creative to bring new ideas for our target audience – this is a role for you!

RESPONSIBILITIES

Own and drive an area of expertise crucial to the team:

Product development and deployment is a key capability within UPro R&D as well as in R&D Unilever as whole. We ensure that products we create are effective to our end-users and safe for the people and for the planet. The job holder is expected to lead the R&D product innovation work stream in a variety of projects such as brand innovation, renovation, sustainability and cost-saving. This comprises a range of activities:

• Independently manage projects and time, embracing all technical elements of the project.
• Represent UPro R&D in various meetings and forums, such as project meetings, lead technical discussions with R&D teams, collaboration with partners, etc.
• Coordinate due diligence R&D activities (safety, regulatory clearances, storage tests, etc)
• Stay in close contact with Supply Chain teams to identify opportunities and threats to the UPro portfolio.
• Initiate and coordinate product testing (internal or external) protocols that are relevant for our products.
• Adapt plans at a moment’s notice to support urgent demands within the team.
• Report results competently with detail and precision.
• Submit artwork briefs and approvals as part of project progression

• Prepare technical documents to transfer the product details to other R&D Business Units teams.
• Participate in the EU 12Q Planning process supporting the EU IBP.

In addition to the core role the job holder will occasionally be expected to:

• Create and maintain material and product specification which involves being fully operational in the available systems (e.g. PLM/Pharos).
• Participate in meetings with other functional teams and other regions.
• Participate in other activities within the bigger R&D/UPro community.

ALL ABOUT YOU

STRENGTHS

• Scientific curiosity with a logical approach to fact finding and problem solving.
• Operational Powerhouse – understand & efficiently deliver day-to-day operational activities.
• Consumer Love – understand our cleaning customers in the different operator groups of Laundrettes, Hospitality, Food Service and Offices and bring the voice of the customer into everything we do.
• Passion for High Performance – have the owner mindset, taking personal accountability for execution and results.
• Connectedness - engaging with other teams, understanding what they have to offer, negotiating available time, and developing a collaborative workplan.
• Agility and Flexibility in work style and able to manage multiple projects at a time.
• Getting things done – the pressure to deliver should come more from within rather than externally.
• Prioritisation – able to deal with complex and changing demands.
• End to end understanding – Be able to engage with other aspects of the business that are outside your comfort zone to help teams progress.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Qualifications: Relevant academic degree (Chemistry/Chemical Engineering/Business) or relevant on the job experience.
• Relevant R&D experience in project management.
• Experience in Home Care R&D is preferred.
• Good software skills for data analysis and visualisation
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
• Good communication and reporting skills

WHAT WE OFFER

Not only do we offer a competitive salary, but also our pension scheme, an annual bonus, a free gym and shares. You’ll get the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and agile environment. We strive to achieve a family-friendly culture and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities, and growing in partnership for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

As part of your hiring journey, we are happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments, to improve your recruitment experience.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, disability, age, parenthood, pregnancy or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against.

By highlighting the gender diversity at the workplace, Unilever encourages women equally men to apply. If you look for a job after a long career break or after any type of leave, do not hesitate to apply.

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