Senior Assistant Brand Manager Cooking Aids – Europe

Note: Deadline for applying is 23.59 the day before the Job Posting End Date.

UNILEVER IS HIRING Foods - Senior Assistant Brand Manager Cooking Aids – Europe

Full-time position
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Local conditions apply  

The role will be closed once the best match is found even before the posting end date

Earlier this year (March 2026), Unilever announced an agreement to separate our Foods business. Our Foods business, including brands such as Hellmann's and Knorr, will join forces with McCormick to become a global flavour leader, with leading positions across spices, seasonings, condiments and complementary food categories, supported by a strong retail and foodservice platform. McCormick has 135+ years of heritage, a presence in 150+ countries and territories, and a portfolio of trusted brands. The transaction remains subject to consultation, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions with a targeted deal close of mid-2027.

For the recruitment of this position, we would like to emphasize that local conditions apply to the position and for this vacancy in principle we will first consider candidates based in the Netherlands. If you are based outside of the Netherlands and you are interested to apply, please feel free to do so but we can only take your application on if a decision is made to also recruit outside of the Netherlands.

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: brighten everyday life for all, 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.

Foods Europe is Unilever’s biggest BU with over 2.4B TO, playing across key verticals Condiments, Cooking Aids and Mini-Meals, behind Billion Euro Global Brands Knorr and Hellmann’s and local jewels like Maille, Amora, Pot Noodle, Marmite, etc.

ABOUT COOKING AIDS & KNORR
At Knorr, we believe every home cook deserves the confidence to create a delicious meal, regardless of how much time, skill or inspiration they have. For nearly 200 years, Knorr has helped people bring flavour, convenience and care into everyday cooking.

Today, Cooking Aids is at the heart of Knorr’s growth ambition in Europe. Guided by our promise “We Got You”, we are on a transformation journey to reignite category growth by helping consumers create flavourful meals with confidence — through products that are easy to find, easy to choose and easy to use. To unlock future growth, we are reshaping our portfolio towards faster-growing spaces, building new consumption occasions and creating breakthrough innovation platforms across priority growth areas.

Within this strategy, Meal Solutions and Seasonings are key priority segments. They offer an exciting opportunity to shape the future of everyday cooking in Europe: building distinctive propositions, scaling strong innovation platforms, and creating brand experiences that help more people cook with confidence every day.

JOB PURPOSE

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Cooking Aids Marketing team, part of Foods Europe, Unilever’s biggest Business Unit. You will be part of a dynamic, forward-thinking team that values creativity, curiosity, pace and collaboration.

The role sits within the Platform & Innovation team, which is part of the broader Cooking Aids Marketing team. In this role, you will work across key priority segments, Meal Solutions and Seasonings especially, supporting the development and delivery of innovation, renovation, portfolio choices and brand activation plans across Europe.
You will play a key role in bringing Knorr’s growth agenda to life: leading projects end to end, supporting big innovation bets, partnering with markets and cross-functional teams, and helping connect portfolio strategy with strong consumer-facing communication and activations.

This is a great role for a marketer who enjoys both crafting and execution: someone who can bring structure to innovation projects, understand consumer and market needs, work closely with local markets, and contribute to brand-building work that makes our propositions more distinctive, relevant and impactful.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• End-to-end project leadership: Take ownership, lead and project manage innovation, renovation and savings initiatives, working closely with cross-functional and country teams to bring products to market OTIF. This will require strong project management skills, clear ownership and the ability to build strong relationships across functions and markets.

• Support key European innovation big bets: Play an active role in delivering priority innovation projects across Meal Solutions and Seasonings, helping shape strong propositions, manage project milestones and ensure the right level of focus, pace and quality from idea to market launch.

• Drive excellence in innovation delivery: Help bring innovation to market quickly and effectively, including creation of 100-day reviews and Post-Launch Evaluations, managing project budgets and adopting the Innoflex mindset when planning consumer research and testing.

• Help modernise Knorr for contemporary cooks: Support the development of new concepts and propositions that are exciting, on-trend and help drive relevance, penetration and long-term growth for the brand. We are looking for creativity, curiosity and a can-do mindset.

• Support EU Platform strategy and growth plans: Support the EU Platform team in developing and implementing share-winning category strategies, leveraging category understanding, food trends and changing consumer eating habits to identify future growth opportunities.

• Support EU Brand Experience work across communication campaigns and activations: Support the EU Brand Experience team to ensure key portfolio and innovation priorities are translated into strong communication campaigns, activations and consumer experiences.

• Act as a connector across markets and functions: Drive day-to-day contact with local markets to support them in bringing category plans and innovation projects to life. Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners (CMI, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance, CSP and Brand Experience) to unlock opportunities, drive projects forward and ensure strong execution.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO SUCCEED
You are a strong marketer with a passion for food, brands and consumers. You enjoy working across both innovation and brand experience, and you are energised by turning ideas into plans that can land in market with impact.

You bring structure to complex projects, are comfortable working across different markets and functions, and know how to keep momentum when priorities move quickly. You are curious about consumer behaviour, food trends and what makes brands distinctive. You are pragmatic and able to balance creativity with execution, combining strong project leadership with a hands-on mindset to turn opportunities into action and deliver results.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• 3+ years of experience in marketing, preferably in portfolio management, innovation and/or brand management.

• Experience or strong exposure to brand experience, communication campaigns and/or activations.

• Proven track record in project management, ideally including innovation, renovation or cross-functional launch projects.

• Ability to work independently and lead cross-functional project teams with clarity and ownership.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across European markets, functions and levels of seniority.

• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to turn complex information into clear recommendations.

• Curiosity for food, flavour, cooking habits and consumer trends.

• Positive mindset, high energy and a fast-learning attitude.

• Previous experience in Foods or FMCG is a plus.

MINDSET & BEHAVIOURS

• Growth-oriented: You look for opportunities to unlock growth, improve the portfolio and move the category forward.

• Consumer and brand curious: You start from consumer needs and are interested in how innovation, communication and activation come together to build stronger brands.

• Collaborative: You build strong relationships across markets and functions and know how to bring people with you.

• Owner mentality: You take accountability, drive momentum and follow through from idea to execution.

• Agile and resilient: You are comfortable with ambiguity, can manage several priorities at once and keep energy and focus in a fast-moving environment.

WHAT SUCCESS WILL LOOK LIKE

Success in this role means you are recognised as a strong project leader and trusted partner across the Cooking Aids team. You help land priority innovation projects with pace and quality, support the development of future growth opportunities across Meal Solutions and Seasonings, and contribute to stronger links between portfolio priorities, communication campaigns and market activation.

You will help bring clarity, structure and momentum to key workstreams, while building the skills and experience needed to grow towards broader brand and category leadership roles in the future.

EXCITED?

Join Unilever and our team! To apply, you must do so online. Please do not forget to upload your CV and a motivation letter.  Your application will be reviewed against our requirements, and we will be in touch shortly after the closing date to provide you with an update on the status of your application.

Looking forward to meeting you! 

Please note this is a Direct Search led by Unilever. Applications from agencies will not be accepted, nor will fees be paid for unsolicited CVs.

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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