Fragrance Raw Materials Global Assistant Procurement Manager

Job Title: Fragrance Raw Materials Global Assistant Procurement Manager

Business Function: Supply Chain, Procurement

Location: Port Sunlight

JOB PURPOSE

This role is part of Procurement’s Sourcingteam, which is responsible for leading supplier relationships, and possessing and delivering Value Chain Expertise, Scale & Global Leverage and Sourcing Best Practices.

Your role is to help establish Unilever’s transformation of its Fragrance business model to achieve affordable superiority in our fragrance portfolio by establishing an in-house fragrance material sourcing capability. The sourcing of Fragrance Materials is aligned to the Business Group and Supply Chain Strategies for Homecare, Personal Care, and Beauty & Wellbeing. You will be responsible to support and lead sourcing and supplier management activities, helping deliver cost, quality, service, sustainability, and innovation objectives through effective procurement processes. Procurement teams are responsible for sourcing goods and services, negotiating with suppliers, managing supplier relationships, and supporting business operations through competitive buying. The role reports into the Fragrance Raw Materials Global Procurement Manager.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• You are a strategy guru: You help the co-creation of a long term, strategic sourcing strategy for fragrance raw materials. You can keep on top of dynamically changing market conditions, understand direct and indirect factors influencing prices and develop a view of future trends. You implement this strategy by deciding what to buy, where to buy, how to buy and when to buy with multiple global & local suppliers. Set up all contracts with 3rd parties for timely progress of the activities required by the business stakeholders while securing favourable legal & commercial conditions in terms of time, quality, price Cost control and savings.

• You are external facing and an expert in the supplier landscape: You assess, identify, and select the appropriate supplier base and materials that meet the needs of the business. You ensure and manage overall performance of suppliers and surpass stakeholder needs. You will develop and implement a digital Supplier performance programme for fragrance raw materials.

• You take considered decisions under pressure: You handle complex and diverse customer, supplier, supply chain or operational issues within generally defined practices and policies in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions. Specific focus is required to ensure that a resilient supply chain is established and that regulatory requirements and proactively assessed and managed through digital tools.

• You are a born leader: You are a leader of procurement projects in your portfolio and for your materials. You take on a role leading portfolio wide activity such as accurate price forecasting and complexity reduction. You build strong collaborative business partnerships with Brand, R&D, Finance, Quality, and Business Operations.

• You are a storyteller: You use your strategic influencing skills to drive Procurement considerations and strategic recommendations with Stakeholders.

• You create growth for Unilever: You work closely with Brand, R&D, Supply Chain, Strategy and Insights and Category Procurement teams to support the launch of innovations and new product development.

• You achieve key financial targets: Delivering the business financial targets for Buying Performance, Product Superiority, Supplier performance, and Complexity reduction for the portfolio materials/services and suppliers. You prepare information on purchase prices and conditions to enable proper budgeting and cash forecasting.
  

Key Responsibilities

• Support/Lead sourcing events, RFQs, RFPs, and supplier tenders.

• Managing a raw materials, direct procurement portfolio.

• Analyse spend, pricing, and market data.

• Maintain supplier and contract information.

• Track savings, cost avoidance, and procurement KPIs.

• Support supplier relationship management activities.

• Ensure compliance with procurement policies and processes.

• Work with stakeholders to understand business requirements.

• Assist in risk management, sustainability, and responsible sourcing initiatives.
  

ALL ABOUT YOU

Key Skills

To drive additional value from the unique position you are in, you need to be excellent in:

• Procurement Sourcing Strategy – (level 2 - Capable) 
  Ability to find, evaluate and select the best suppliers to drive savings, increase value and manage risk.
  

• Supplier Analysis – (level 3 - Intermediate) 
  Ability to assess the weaknesses and strengths of prospective and current suppliers with respect to their – availability of capable staff, business model, capacity, sales revenue, stocks, reputation, mark-ups, mark-downs, gross margins, quality, service, reliability, pricing policies, payment terms, etc.​
  

• Value Chain Understanding – (level 3 - Intermediate) 
  A value chain is a set of activities that an organization carries out to create value for its customers. Value Chain understanding is the ability to understand how the company makes value, by understanding all the activities and how they connect. Understanding the value chain allows us to look for ways to add more value.
  

• Supplier Negotiation – (level 2 - Capable) 
  Successful negotiations are not a win-lose proposition. The best negotiations result in a win for all parties, which leads to stronger relationships and a desire to continue a partnership that is mutually beneficial.
  During the procurement process, a negotiation between corporate buyers and sellers is the first step in developing a supply contract which has a direct effect on profit or loss. To be a good negotiator you need to: prepare and plan, be knowledgeable about the subject matter negotiated; be able to think clearly and rapidly under pressure and uncertainty; be able to express thoughts verbally; be a good listener; have sound judgment and integrity; and be able to persuade others.
  

• Having a procurement/finance and or R&D background would be seen as an advantage but not deemed essential, as training would be provided.
  

• Contract Negotiation – (level 3 - Intermediate)
  Contract negotiation is the process of coming to an agreement on a set of legally binding terms. When two companies negotiate, both parties seek to obtain favourable terms and minimize financial, legal, and operational risk.
  

• Sourcing Resilience – (level 3 - Intermediate)
  Ability to run procurement operations to focus not only on 'just in time' but also on 'just in case', by anticipating and planning for uncertainty. It does involve finding robust alternative suppliers and anticipate situations that can have an impact on such as: out of stock, bankruptcy, climate issues.
  

• Stakeholder Management – (level 2 - Capable)
  Ability to identify and then understand the motivations and behaviours of anyone who can affect what you are trying to achieve on a project; then developing relevant strategies to influence outcomes.
  

• Strategic Partnerships – (level 3 - Intermediate)
  Ability to join forces with like-minded strategic partners to reach objectives that would be unattainable if going solo.
  Ability to adopt a deliberate approach to ensure the planned benefits of the relationship are achieved. This includes:

  • and regularly refreshing and adapting your approach to the strategic relationship

  • ensuring a strong governance, monitoring, and evaluation of the strategic relationship

  • defining a clear strategy & plan for the strategic relationship

  • obtaining a deep analytical understanding of your strategic partner and the relationship

  • developing and maintaining strong individual relationships with your strategic partner and its stakeholders
    

• Collaboration – (level 3 - Intermediate)
  Enables people within an organization or outside an organization to engage with each other productively and efficiently.
  

• Program Management (level 2 - Capable)
  Lead the planning and implementation of key change programmes.

Additional Skills

• Cost Models (level 2 - Capable)

• Contract Management (level 2 - Capable) Ensure contracts and procurement documentation are maintained. 

• Supplier Relationship Management (level 3 - Intermediate)

• Service Risk Management (level 2 - Capable)

• Digital Dexterity (level 2 - Capable) AI literacy (level 2 - Capable),
  Excel (level 3 – intermediate), Microsoft packages (level 3-intermediate)

• Data Driven Decision Making (level 2 - Capable)

• Effective Communication (level 3 - Intermediate) Good communication and stakeholder management.

• Change Management (level 2 - Capable) Ability to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively.

• Strategic Influencing (level 3 - Intermediate)

• Critical Thinking (level 2 - Capable) Problem-solving mindset and attention to detail.

• Business Acumen (level 3 - Intermediate) Strong analytical and numerical skills.

• Finance acumen (level 3 – intermediate) Proficiency in Excel, Power BI, SAP, or similar tools.

• R&D formulation cost management (level 2 - intermediate)

• Provide procurement support to project teams and business stakeholders.

• Knowledge of the Fragrance portfolio is not a skill, but it is essential to be effective in a Raw Materials role.

Unilever core behaviours are expected to focus upon:

Care Deeply
Focus on What Counts
Stay Three Steps Ahead Care
Deeply Deliver with Excellence

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 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. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever | Unilever.

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!

#LI-Onsite