Careers at Unilever

CONNECTIONS THAT CHANGE OUR WORLD MADE BY YOU

Careers with Unilever

To achieve our goal of doubling the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint, we need more amazing people. People like Graham.

Graham had the task of ensuring our extensive ice cream supply chain kept a steady temperature, from factory to van to shop. He connected with colleagues from across Europe to share and spread best practice and then helped retailers develop more efficient ways to handle frozen food. The result? Happier consumers, higher quality ice cream and a more efficient supply chain.

Whether you’re a supply chain specialist like Graham, or an expert in one of the other many disciplines we recruit from, if you have big ideas – and the passion and drive to implement them – Unilever could be the company for you.

Big jobs with big responsibilities

We’re looking for people at all career stages: from pre- and post-graduate to those who have already started work. From the moment you join us, like Graham, you’ll be stretched and challenged by big jobs with big responsibilities. We believe this is the best way to learn and develop. 

You’ll have a broad range of opportunities. We offer a variety of different experiences: across diverse functions and categories around the world, with particularly exciting possibilities in the developing and emerging markets.

You could become a business leader, work on iconic brands, push boundaries in the lab, create ground-breaking campaigns, build award-winning customer relationships and develop specialist knowledge and expertise.

Excelling with Unilever

Our people have a wide range of skills, from engineering to chemistry, from marketing to design. To excel with Unilever, your specialist experience will be underpinned by strong general capabilities, such as communications skills, change management expertise and commercial insight.

Crucially, you will share our four core values: integrity, respect, pioneering and responsibility.

Once appointed, you will be able to take control of your career, with solid support from our HR team and your manager. On-the-job development will be complemented by formal learning and development, including face-to-face coaching – perhaps at our dedicated development centres in London and Singapore – and online learning options.

A winning culture

Unilever has a winning culture where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential and be themselves.

Our working environment is stimulating, due to the ambition of our business, the dynamism of our industry and the high calibre of our people – a combination that puts us in employer branding company Universum’s top 30 league of the ‘World’s most attractive employers’.

We embrace diversity. We are one of the world’s most culturally mixed companies: our 171,000 employees are based in more than 150 countries and our board of directors is made up of eight nationalities and 25% women. Such diversity reflects our determination to draw on the best talent from around the world. It also means we can understand and meet the varied needs of all our global consumers. 

Unilever Future Leaders Program (UFLP)

BIG IDEAS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE MADE BY YOU

Unilever Future Leaders Programme

Great ambition requires great leaders. People like Srirup.

Srirup, a Unilever Future Leader Programme (UFLP) graduate, had the challenge of growing Lifebuoy’s share of the fiercely competitive hand soap market.

He led a marketing project that identified a gap in the market, then worked with colleagues to develop ‘the liquid soap with the 10-second germ impact’. Having shaped a unique message, he deployed it worldwide – bringing hygiene benefits to millions and more than trebling our market share.

Big ideas like this drive our business: their drivers are, in many cases, current or past UFLP graduates.

What’s so good about Unilever’s graduate programme?

The UFLP is an intensive two-to-three-year programme that runs in 56 countries around the world. Successful applicants get the opportunity to:

• Engage with some of the world’s most iconic and best-loved consumer brands
• Work at the forefront of the dynamic fast moving consumer goods industry, alongside many of the sector’s brightest minds, in a company voted by students as one of the top 30 of the ‘World’s most attractive employers’ (2012 Universum survey)
• Achieve international exposure and experience, across the 150 countries in which we operate
• Develop the skills to be exceptional future leaders, both within Unilever and wherever life takes you

What does it involve?

Graduates progress through a series of ‘rotations’ – or on-the-job assignments – during their three-year programme. The types of assignment will reflect which discipline each individual was recruited in: HR, finance, supply chain, R&D, customer development or marketing. To build essential general expertise, graduates also experience ‘cross-functional’ rotations, that is, assignments outside their core discipline.

In rotations, graduates work on projects that address real business challenges, requiring delivery against set goals. Individuals receive regular feedback and coaching on their performance from their line managers, as part of a formal on-going process to nurture their strengths and assess their development needs.

What happens next?

At the end of the programme, if they have performed and developed well, each graduate is offered a managerial role. Like the rotation assignments themselves, these are real jobs, involving leadership of a strategic part of our business and, for some roles, staff management.

How do I apply?

There are several selection stages:

• Check your Unilever country website to find local UFLP postings
• Complete the online application form. This could take up to 45 minutes
• Complete the online aptitude test that will be accessible as soon as you have finished the application form. You will have two weeks to tackle this logic and numerical reasoning test. However, when you have started the test, you will need to complete it within 40 minutes
• A Unilever recruiter will interview you to gauge your suitability, questioning you, for example, about your leadership experience and team member roles. The interview is likely to be by telephone but is sometimes conducted face-to-face. It can last up to one hour
• A visit to an assessment centre – often a Unilever office, but sometimes on your campus – is the final selection stage. Here, groups of graduates will be asked to solve business challenges, via case studies, group exercises and presentations. The participants will be observed and assessed by senior Unilever managers
• We will let you know whether you have been successful within two weeks of the final graduate assessments in your home country.

Sustainability at Unilever

A FAIR WORLD FOR EVERYONE MADE BY YOU

Sustainable living

Every time chocolate connoisseurs bite into a Magnum Ghana, they are not just having a fantastic ice cream experience, they are also helping small farmers in West Africa.

Magnum Ghana – and the equally scrumptious Magnum Ecuador – use cocoa beans produced by small farmers whom we have encouraged to use sustainable agricultural practices. This partnership, run with the Rainforest Alliance, means thousands of farmers get better harvests and higher incomes, we get great quality cocoa beans, and our consumers have the ice cream treat of their lives.

Delivering better lives

The Magnum initiative is one of many Unilever activities that make up our Sustainable Living Plan. This global plan spans our entire portfolio of brands and all countries in which we sell our products. By 2020, it will ensure we:

• Help one billion people improve their health and wellbeing – for example, by supporting hygiene programmes that help reduce incidences of potentially fatal childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea
• Source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably – as Magnum is doing with the West African cocoa beans
• Halve the environmental footprint of our products ­ – our major new factory in Durban, South Africa, for instance, sends no waste to landfill and uses only recycled and rainwater-harvested water

Partnerships for the planet

We are determined to make the whole lifecycle of our products more sustainable – from the raw materials we source to what goes into our packaging. So, in halving our footprint, we don’t just aim to make our factories more environmentally-friendly: we also want to halve the amount of water consumers use with our products and the level of waste in their disposal. To achieve these goals we are working in partnership with many different organisations around the world, such as Oxfam, Fairtrade, Greenpeace and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

Small actions: big difference

Our alliance with consumers is just as crucial: to reduce the environmental impact of our brands, we need to encourage people to use – and dispose of – products in the right way. So, at the same time as supporting West African smallholders to farm in the best way for the planet, we are aiming to inspire our consumers – and our employees – to take small, everyday actions that could add up to a big difference.

Living sustainably is not only good for the world, it is good for our business:

• Consumers want it. A more sustainable brand is often a more desirable one
• Retailers want it. We are helping our customers achieve their own sustainability goals, which is deepening our relationships
• It fuels innovation. The challenges of working more sustainably are inspiring us to develop new products and packaging
• It helps build new markets. The developing world faces great sustainability challenges. Helping consumers meet these challenges will enable us to grow in these important regions
• It saves money. Sustainable operations use less energy and packaging and reduce waste
• It inspires our people. Our sustainable growth vision is galvanising our employees and making us the sort of business great people want to join 

Our Brands

 

GLOBAL SUPERSTAR BRANDS MADE BY YOU

Our brands

Unilever’s powerhouse brands ­– like Axe, Magnum, Dove and Lipton – are global superstars.

Like A-list celebrities, they are recognised all over the world, loved by millions, and seen on TV screens, smartphones and billboards everywhere. But they enjoy an intimacy and trust with their fans that few sporting heroes, musicians or actors will ever experience.

Getting more out of life

Every day of the year, two billion people in more than 190 countries use our branded products. They use them for the most personal reasons: to feed their families nutritiously, to keep themselves and their homes looking and feeling good, and to get more out of life.

Reflecting their global popularity, 12 of our brands each generate more than €1 billion in sales every year. And, in 2011, Dove went even further, becoming Unilever’s first €3 billion personal care brand.

Our brands may be loved and trusted but they can’t stand still: consumers keep changing so, to keep on meeting their needs, we must keep changing too.

Breakthrough innovation

In 2011, we spent €1 billion on R&D, to improve our existing products and develop new ones. Recent innovations include:

• Dove’s Men+Care range, which helped us reach that €3 billion sales figure • Motionsense technology, which ensures Rexona deodorants smell great all day, by packaging their fragrance in ‘bundles’ which go on opening as the body moves

• The technology to capture the smell of freshly-picked tea leaves, a breakthrough that is now giving PG Tips and Lipton Yellow Label a unique fresh taste.

Our R&D focus is a powerful engine for growth: 30% of our annual sales comes from products launched in the last two years.

Marketing firsts

While innovation continues making our brands better, brilliant marketing keeps them at the forefront of people’s minds. In 2011 we spent more than €6 billion on advertising and promotion. Our ground-breaking ads have achieved many global firsts: in 2011, Unilever was the first company to run ads on the iPad; in 2010, we were the first to carry them on the iPhone; in 1969, we were the first to run a colour commercial on British TV and, 14 years earlier, had been the first to advertise there in black and white.

Industry recognition

While our brands are the real stars, our talented marketers get their share of the limelight.

• In 2012, Unilever’s Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Keith Weed, was judged International Marketer of the Year by media and marketing publishers M&M and Marketer of the Year by the UK Marketing Society
• Also in 2012, our Senior Vice-President of Marketing, Marc Mathieu, was named the most powerful marketer in Britain by Marketing magazine
• In 2010, Unilever was named Advertiser of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Since 1961, we have won more than 200 individual Cannes Lion awards

In the 19^th century we created the first ever consumer brand, Sunlight. More than a century later, our great products, cutting-edge innovation and stunning marketing mean our brands are stronger than ever. True global superstars.

What Unilever employees are saying...

“As a working mom with a working husband and two very busy kids, I really like Unilever’s Agile Working.  My performance is judged based on how and what I deliver, not on whether I was sitting at my desk at 8:00 in the morning and stayed past 5:00 at night.  Some days I have early morning phone calls and some days I have late nights.  But I can flex my work schedule around my personal commitments and that gives me the focus and energy I need to deliver my best work.”

  Sandy Lukavsky

  Director Leadership Development North America and Learning Americas

  New York, United States

“Unilever is a fun and challenging place to work, with a culture that's open, dynamic and performance oriented. Unilever a truly global company, which presents masses of opportunities that other companies do not offer. We have a vastportfolio of prestigious brands that I truly value as a consumer such as Axe, Dove, TRESemmé and Bertolli.  Our corporate values which emphasize taking a wider responsibility for the impacts of the business on people, livelihoods and the environment is something I admire every day.”

  Katie Emerson

  University Relations

  United States

"At Unilever we have an ambitious and inspiring goal to double the size of our business and at the same time to reduce our environmental impact. To do this we need the best talent. Unilever is a great place to develop your career. We pride ourselves on our leadership development achieved through a winning combination of challenging work assignments, project work, coaching and participation in our world class leadership programes."

  Emma West

  VP HR Global Talent and Organisation Development

  London, United Kingdom

“I joined Unilever because I wanted to apply my interests in an international and challenging business environment.  During my career in HR I have been in roles that have given me insight into the local, regional and global challenges of the business, as well as  exposure to various other functions, like Customer Development and the Supply Chain. I have been physically based in the Netherlands and the UK and have travelled around the world for projects that I have been involved in. I love working for a business where I see the tangible results of our work. We are  driven to through the work that we do we leave the world in a better place than it is now. As a mother of 3 young children that is important to me. Our flexible culture and focus on agile working, allows me to thoroughly enjoy my current role as Early Careers Resourcing Director and also  be there for my family.”

  Klazien van Vilet-Linse

  Early Careers Resourcing Director

  London, United Kingdom

"For me Unilever is all about opportunity and learning every day! In my 8 years at Unilever I have had more than 6 roles and lived and worked in two countries. Unilever provides the platform to work with the most amazing and inspirational people and brands as well as the opportunity to celebrate and leverage our differences whilst reducing our impact on the environment ."

  Rachell Harmsey

  Global Talent Director

"Unilever culture is open, diverse and friendly; leadership gives you plenty of room to be yourself and do your part to achieve the company growth ambitions. Working for Unilever has been a wonderful learning journey and a motivating and fun move on my professional career. And the best part of it is that I get free ice – cream along the way!"

  Carlota Hugues Salas

  Employee Engagement Specialist at Unilever

  London, United Kingdom

 

"I have loved working with Unilever from the day I joined as a trainee, many years ago. Two main reasons for that.One is that I have learned and developed professionally every single day. With roles supporting a variety of businesses, functions and geographies, and fantastic people to learn from, there has been great stretch and richness of experience. Second, the opportunity to contribute to an amazing company, with strong values and a great sense of purpose. I have a huge sense of pride with what Unilever achieves and how it achieves it. In India, the country where I joined Unilever, one in three Indians use a Unilever product every single day!!There aren't many companies which can say that."

  Prerana Issar

  Vice President HR, Global Foods Category at Unilever Plc

  London, United Kingdom

 

"The work is extremely challenging and the expectations are very high, but the level of support always makes me feel that my objectives are achievable. It is satisfying to work with so many skilled and knowledgable people, and to know that every small thing that you do can help to make a huge difference to the company."

  Iain Gray

  Country Website Network Manager at Unilever PLC

  Brighton, United Kingdom

 

"Unilever values diversity and has got numerous females in leadership position. The company respects women and allow us to reconcile our family and business roles on the way which fits the best for us as individuals.For example in Hungary Unilever won the 3rd place in theWomen Friendly Workplace competition 2011."

  Erika Buzasi

  Works Director

  Hungary

 

"Opportunities to grow have never ended in my 15 years at Unilever. I’ve been part of launching new channels, technologies, and brands. Never heard “no” to a good idea, neverfelt compromised ethically, always felt good about its commitment to a sustainable earth."

  Frank Haresnape

  Vice President Foods Africa

  Durban Area, South Africa

 

“Working in Unilever is a joy because it allows me through my work to make the lives of millions of people across the world a little bit better every day, which I find enormously energizing. The breadth of our business, the strength of our brands and the quality of our fabulous people ensures that every day at work is filled with challenges, learning and opportunity."

  Rajev Shukla

  Global Brand Vice President, Pond's

  Singapore

 

"I came to Unilever because I knew it was one of those must have organizations as far as career development was concerned. Since joining I have had a genuinely open hand to get on and deliver those things that play to my strengths but in an environment that is challenging and requires you to really think things through before acting. That's where I see the best career development - not on a training course or development programme but in the environment and culture that you are required to deliver in daily. After having worked for leading companies in professional services, retail, banking and pharmaceuticals, I'm convinced I saved the best till last and can recommend Unilever to any self-respecting experienced hire!"

 Stephen Lochhead

 Global Talent Director

  London

 

"What I enjoy most about working at Unilever Food Solutions is the breadth of responsibility and the opportunity to be a true business partner. Throughout the business, there is strong teamwork, a real passion for winning and an environment where everyone's contributions are valued and appreciated. This makes me proud because I am able to make a real difference to the business and to our customers which I find very inspiring!"

  Jody Spence

  HR Director

  Unilever Food Solutions NA

 

"Working for Unilever means to me being part of a big and thrilling deal, it is the passion for the brands and for the products we make. Every 2-3 years I have changed job. I moved across categories and countries. And still this passion never went away. Many of the people I joined in my early days in Unilever are still with us. Many amongst the ones who left and I am still in contact with,they are the best ambassadors for Unilever as they all remember that passion... and they eventually seek to return."

  Salvatore Iorio

  Human Resources Director

  Talent & Leadership Development Western Europe