Safety Scientist - Immunology

Job Title: Safety Scientist – Immunology

Location: Colworth R&D, Sharnbrook UK – hybrid

JOB PURPOSE

As a safety scientist (Immunology) at Unilever, you will be involved in conducting risk assessment and associated research to support current products and advance both our current and new safety assessment methods by applying your scientific expertise in immunology.

The role is based in the dynamic environment of our Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Science (SERS) team, located near Bedford. You will be joining a team of safety scientists, where you will be supported in your own development, while also expected to help others grow in their roles. You will collaborate with a diverse range of scientists, including biologists, toxicologists, eco-toxicologists, computational chemists, and mathematical modellers and will have access to a wealth of expertise and knowledge.

In this exciting role, you will have the opportunity to lead projects, build collaborations and partnerships with relevant academic, governmental, and industrial groups and to present and publish your research.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As a safety scientist (Immunology) your primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assessment of human safety risks associated with ingredients across Unilever’s product portfolio with an emphasis on applying mechanistic or pathways-based approaches to potential immune effects
• Delivering transparent, well-documented exposure-based risk assessments, including protein allergy risk assessments, to SERS project teams to enable robust decision-making.
• Define appropriate approaches and methodologies for generation, analysis, and interpretation of immunological data to support non-animal safety assessment
• Work closely with other SERS and Unilever scientists, as well as external collaborators, to provide expert scientific advice on risk assessment of potential immune effects
• Stay informed on emerging trends bringing new thinking and opportunities into the team applicable to immune effects risk assessment
• Contribute to the development and application of AI/machine learning (ML) solutions that enable predictive insights and automation of risk assessment of potential immune effects.
• Provide training to both expert and non-expert users within the organisation, and support development of other SERS scientists via coaching/mentoring as appropriate
• Promote the acceptance and adoption of new scientific approaches external to Unilever

ALL ABOUT YOU

You’ll need to be able to work effectively and with impact in cross-disciplinary teams and in multi-cultural environments, be flexible and willing to adapt within a fast-changing business environment.

We would expect the successful candidate to have:

• A master’s or PhD degree in immunology, immunotoxicology, or a related scientific discipline, or equivalent previous experience working in industry
• Knowledge of immunological mechanisms involved in, and the public health implications of, immediate allergies.
• Strong literature mining and writing skills
• Strong problem definition and trouble shooting skills
• Enjoy challenging goals and problem solving in a fast-moving environment, keeping pace with advances in non-animal approaches to immunotoxicology
• Highly self-motivated, yet team orientated
• Ability to work with scientists from other disciplines to understand and define problems
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex ideas to technical and non-technical audiences

Desirable:

• A few years industrial/consulting/postdoc experience
• Experience of conducting immunotoxicology and/or protein allergy risk assessment for consumer safety
• Project leadership experience
• The ability to interpret protein analysis data
• Familiarity or experience using structural bioinformatics tools including protein sequence homology analysis, protein structure visualisation, and structure prediction.
• Exposure to AI/ML applications in a business or scientific context

Location

Colworth is a vibrant scientific ecosystem with around 800 employees (270 from Unilever) from over 30 nationalities, with 88 PhDs. There are various facilities including a restaurant, gym, and a nursery. There are many social and recreational activities to take part in, such as going for a lunchtime walk or run in the beautiful surrounding countryside, the Colworth choir, and Colworth Cats netball team to name just a few. London with all its attractions is a short 40-minute train ride from Bedford.

ABOUT SERS
We want consumers to be confident that our products are safe for them and their families, and better for the environment. The scientists in Unilever’s Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Science (SERS) group play a key role in ensuring that our products are safe, and our business is environmentally sustainable. SERS’s world-class reputation for safety and sustainability science plays a key role in Unilever achieving its purpose, by working across the business to build safety and environmental sustainability into everything we do; find out how at SERS.unilever.com.

NOTES

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, Tresemme, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Hellman's, Clear and Vaseline.

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’.

What We Offer

Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, subsidised gym membership, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all. 

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities, and growing together for better business performance. We want to push boundaries, and have the flexibility needed to keep adapting in an ever-changing, more dynamic world. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants, 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.

To find out more, including more information about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here.

Recruitment Fraud

Cyber criminals advertise fake job adverts with prestigious employers as a way of stealing information or even defrauding individuals out of money. In the most sophisticated cases, they will set up fake websites, which have a similar address to companies like Unilever. They even conduct fake telephone interviews and then offer candidates a role with the proviso they pay a fee for background checks or to cover work visa costs.  These types of attacks are becoming more common as more people are looking for employment in the economic climate. 

How is Unilever tackling this?

Many of Unilever’s recruitment sites publish a warning to candidates about recruitment fraud. The Cyber Security team also proactively scan for signs of people setting up fake Unilever sites and act to close them down. 

What can I do?

If you become aware of potential recruitment fraud, spot fake Unilever recruitment adverts or fake LinkedIn profiles, report them via Una Live Chat. 

Unilever does not accept responsibility or liability for any candidates who are financially impacted by recruitment fraud. Your vigilance is key!