Foods Packaging Assistant Manager at Unilever

JOB PURPOSE

• Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do – creating a better business and a better world.  If you are passionate about the impact of packaging to the end consumer experience of food products, opportunities to design and execute for sustainability and the better of the planet and love the thrill of excellent execution then this role is just for you.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

• Lead Packaging Development activities for category innovation and deploy projects to deliver category growth and sustainability goals across Southern Africa.
• Provide technical input for new project briefs and participate in lead concept selection through prototype development, evaluation and testing.
• Monitor competitor activity and assess use of packaging technologies for competitive advantage in terms of consumer appeal, functionality, cost and availability. 
• Lead component approval, packaging testing & qualification to ensure components meet consumer expectations, functional requirements, customer needs, cost targets, manufacturing and distribution demands.
• Develop and obtain information to create technical packaging component specifications.
• Partner with other functions to identify value improvement projects, evaluate feasibility, establish capability and implement to achieve profitable growth category goals.
• Lead risk identification, assessment and action planning for packaging change projects and participate in risk assessment activities for innovation, VIP and supply chain support projects.
• Provide leadership for packaging change projects through project management, including such activities as clarification of project goals & scope, collaborating to develop business cases and preparing detailed project plans.
• Partner with supply chain, the R&D network (local- global) and suppliers to land localization projects.
• Collaborate with brand teams to deliver packaging concepts, designs, specifications and technologies to maximize the impact of brand communication in the category.
• Grow the R&D packaging talent pool through development of self and contributing to the development of others in terms of technical packaging knowledge, professional and general skills.
• Keep abreast of and evaluate emerging packaging technologies for opportunities to contribute to category sustainability goals.
• Exploit emerging digital technologies for effective collaboration with business partners. Operate all relevant digital tools & technologies and ensure a high level of data quality.
• Stay abreast of technical developments and regulatory updates in the Foods category
• Commit to personal development and professional growth by actively participating in personal development initiatives discussed or mentioned in the Future Fit Plan

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Experiences & Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Packaging, Materials Science, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering or a related technical field, with 3 to 5 years' experience in packaging development, design or innovation.
• Packaging work stream leadership in a cross functional project environment.
• Project leadership in functional area.
• Packaging methods and measurement, testing, data analysis and reporting.
• Trial briefing, planning, co-ordination and execution. Trial reporting and analysis of outcomes

Skills

• Excellence in Science and Technology Expertise.
• Professional networking with external focus.
• Building and maintaining relationships with an ability to be persuasive and assertive when necessary
• Ability to work well both independently and as part of a wider cross-functional team.
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to engage effectively with both internal and external partners
• Skilled in analyzing risk and stakeholder management
• A passion & curiosity for learning about technology, customers and consumers
• Attention to detail especially in data collection, analysis and reporting
• Good time-management skills to handle multiple projects, in a dynamic environment with changing priorities.
• Digitally savvy – ability to learn and use systems for maximum efficiency
• Creativity in activating science in consumer language and engaging consumers and non-scientists