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Future Fit Manufacturing

Getting a Magnum ice cream bar into your hands in the right condition at the right time and price, takes a seamless, connected Supply Chain.

When you join our team, you will be part of a digital first, world class value chain - sourcing the raw materials, turning them into the products we sell, and delivering them to millions of retail outlets via our global network of logistics warehouses - to ensure our household brands reach billions of consumers every day.

Future-fit manufacturing is the magic of combining manufacturing and advanced technology in our operations to become fully responsive, agile, data-driven and consumer centric. That means adopting cutting-edge technology and advanced manufacturing methods to increase operational performance and environmental sustainability – while also utilising Fit for Purpose learning resources to continuously build essential skills.

Read all about future-fit skills here.

Manufacturing at Unilever is:

    • At the heart of our global organisation. This is where we transform our raw materials into Unilever’s purposeful brands using fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies.
    • Committed to a sustainable future by protecting people and the planet. Your role will have a direct impact on people and the planet via our ambitious Unilever Compass commitments working with our partners, suppliers, and communities around the world to drive the systemic change that is needed to -improve the health of the planet; improve people’s health, confidence and wellbeing; and contribute to a fairer more inclusive world.
    • A great place to be part of a highly engaged, purposeful, and future-fit team. You will get personal development and learning as you build future-fit skills and grow your career within Unilever. Continuous learning is at the heart of our growth culture – and our commitment to helping our people stay fit for the future of work.
    • Agile for the changing market by embracing digital transformation and innovative technology (from real time data analytics to robotic process automation) for greater efficiency in delivering world class products to meet customer and consumer expectations in rapidly dynamic market conditions.
    • Dialling up diversity. Having a more diverse supply chain not only helps shape a fairer and more socially inclusive world – it allows us to unlock innovation and agility and better address the needs of our diverse consumers. We also want to be a workplace where everyone feels they belong and are able to thrive. This means creating an inclusive culture free from the barriers that limit people in reaching their true potential.
    • A global, connected Supply Chain team that collaborates internally and externally across our end-to-end value chain with rigour, tenacity, and passion. Sitting within the Unilever Business Operations function, our Supply Chain teams support our five Business Groups (Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Ice Cream) and One Unilever markets, and are spread across over 280 factories, 270 offices and 450 logistics warehouses globally. They include our Line Operators, Engineers, Planners, Procurement, Quality, Logistics, R&D, Environment and Safety teams.

    To join us, start by searching our job openings. You can also sign up for job alerts or join our talent community.

Did you know?

As assessed by Gartner Unilever has been recognised in its distinguished ‘Master’s Category since 2018 having held the number 1 position in its top 25 ranking for several years prior.

Read more

Inside our Digital Twin Factories in Latin America

Our engineers and technicians in our Indaiatuba (Brazil) and Guayas (Ecuador) Factories use state-of-the-art, digital twin technology to make strategic decisions about improving processes.

Inside our Hefei Factory in China – Unilever’s largest production facility in the world

Unilever’s Hefei site in China has been recognised by the World Economic Forum as an “Advanced 4th Industrial Revolution Lighthouse”. This recognition sees Hefei joining a group of 54 other pioneering factories – including our Dubai Personal Care Factory – that are considered the most digitally advanced manufacturers in the world.

Reducing emissions from our factories

From heat pumps to renewables, Lewis Rae, Unilever’s Safety, Health, and Environment Capabilities Manager for Air Emissions, explains how we’re decarbonising our operations. Read more.

Key roles

Click to explore some of our critical supply chain roles.

Factory Leader

As Factory Leader you will put your expertise to work in our exciting on-site environment, inspiring your team to raise the bar in driving operational excellence. You will take ownership for setting our future vision and objectives, while ensuring we meet the wider business needs through outstanding site performance. You will enjoy tackling daily challenges, crafting solutions that streamline processes and ensure the smooth running of our entire organisation. Ultimately, your job is to build in depth factory strategies that allow us to meet service, cost, productivity, quality, innovation, safety health and environment targets…all the while developing your people to deliver on the future factory agenda.

You will:

  • Implement the manufacturing vision and digital strategy
  • Lead and manage your team, while maintaining labour relations
  • Drive manufacturing performance using business acumen and data analytics
  • Deliver on our safety and quality standards

Process Engineer

Our Process Engineers influence the way our whole factory runs. As the key technical authority in the factory, you’re fully responsible for validating process improvements, establishing standards on the line, and eliminating losses. Inspire, train and coach your line teams, providing guidance in trend identification, root cause analysis, continuous improvement, and the establishment of countermeasures. Your main aim? Eliminate defects, losses, and waste, and increase the stability of the line to support the transition of traditional line teams to semi-autonomous teams. It’s an important job, and takes someone with passion, determination and key skills in people management, analytics and future thinking. Do you have what it takes?

You will:

  • Drive continuous improvement and root cause analysis
  • Lead cost engineering analytics and manage our assets
  • Inspire process safety
  • Lead, coach and train your team
  • Deliver data visualisation and analytics

Quality Leader

Our products are used all over the world. They keep people fed, clean, healthy and happy. And it’s your job as Quality Lead to make sure these globally-renowned products are everything our customers expect – and more. Here, you will make sure we hold ourselves to a higher standard. While implementing Unilever specifications and standards for quality assurance and control, you will ensure systems are in place to comply with local regulatory requirements. You will drive Quality Improvement activities to ensure product consumer safety and overall quality. And you will reimagine the quality of our goods landscape, while building a career you’re truly proud of.

You will:

  • Inspire quality mastery
  • Lead our Quality teams
  • Drive our consumer focus

SHE Leader

As a global organisation with a worldwide workforce, safety is our No 1 priority. You will be a driving force behind our safe and secure environment. As a SHE Leader, you will manage Safety, Health & Environment improvement activities to achieve excellence at site level and ensure site compliance with all Unilever and local regulatory standards. While working with site Supply Chain teams, you will develop local SHE Strategy and improvement plans in order to reduce injuries, illnesses and environmental impact as measured in the core performance indicators. Working alongside your team of passionate colleagues, you will see how the company’s many operations come together and how the exciting work you do impacts each person in our operations.

You will:

  • Manage risk and safety
  • Drive root cause analysis
  • Lead emergency management and hazard spotting
  • Communicate effectively across the company
  • Lead your safety teams

Maintenance Engineer

Become a Unilever Maintenance Engineer and put your skills towards driving an environment of excellence that impacts our entire world of FMCG. Make sure our factories achieve world class production – zero defects, zero waste and zero losses. Improve preventative maintenance while eliminating breakdowns, using Focused Improvement methods to simplify processes, standardize procedures, utilize predictive/preventative maintenance effectively and introduce increased automation and controls. All while crafting a career limited only by your ambition!

You will:

  • Drive continuous improvement and root cause analysis
  • Inspire cost engineering analytics
  • Manage manufacturing technology
  • Lead, coach and train your team
  • Manage our assets
  • Deliver data visualisation and analytics

Digital/Automation Engineer

Work with the best, most cutting-edge advanced technologies to create, capture and integrate data and develop innovative solutions in a unique virtual environment. Join us as a Digital / Automation Engineer and enjoy a varied career where you will implement and monitor technology. You will need engineering skills and software engineering know-how, including knowledge of 3D modelling and data-science techniques, and how they can be applied to engineering projects. This is an opportunity to impact how we work on a global scale, driving excellence for the business and our customers – while driving a boundless career.

You will:

  • Work with simulation and modelling
  • Create Internet of Things sensors
  • Drive decision insight and mission control
  • Develop our cyber security solutions
  • Deliver cloud analytics
  • Programme solutions
  • Work with Edge Control Systems and Advanced Process Control
  • Inspire Robot, Cobot, AGV and Warehouse Automation

Sustainable Manufacturing

When you join Unilever, you’re partnering with a company that understands that we have a responsibility to the planet. Our Unilever Compass sets out our sustainability commitments to tackle the key challenges of our time. These are; climate action, protect and regenerate nature, waste free world, positive nutrition, health and wellbeing, equity diversity and inclusion, raising living standards and future of work.

Our Climate Transition Action Plan sets out our climate strategy and goals, and the actions we are taking to meet them. They include a commitment to reduce our operational emissions by 100% by 2030, against a 2015 baseline.

So far:

  • We've reduced operational emissions from our factories, offices, and research labs by 64% since 2015. This puts us on track to achieve our interim milestone of a 70% reduction by 2025
  • We've reduced CO2 from energy per tonne of production by 77% compared to 2008 and by 14% versus 2020.

As part of these commitments, we are also working to implement water stewardship programmes in 100 locations in water-stressed areas by 2030, as well halve food waste in our operations by 2025. Learn more about our Compass sustainability commitments here.

Find jobs in Factory Supply Chain

Our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace. If you are also passionate about helping our global supply chain meet consumer needs, protect people and the planet, while also building world class manufacturing skills, you’re ready to join Unilever.

Find out more about a role in Factory Supply Chain by searching for opportunities.

Are you a match?
It is an absolute privilege to lead Unilever’s Supply Chain. The passion and drive of so many individuals and teams makes it one of the best supply chain organisations operating across the world today.
Reginaldo Ecclissato, Chief Business Operations and Supply Chain Officer

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