Mass Balance Support at Unilever

JOB PURPOSE

• The Mass Balance Support role will play a key role in strengthening material accuracy, material usage tracking, and process loss visibility across the factory. The role supports the end-to-end mass balance process by maintaining reliable SAP and physical inventory records, preparing daily and weekly material movement analysis, coordinating issue resolution across departments, and ensuring that supporting evidence is available for Process Engineers, Logistics, and Finance.
• The purpose of this role is to create a disciplined bridge between physical factory activity and system records, enabling faster root cause identification, improved MUV governance, more accurate stock records, and better financial controls. The role is ideal for individuals pursuing a career in supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, finance, or operations management, with a strong interest in inventory accuracy, SAP, process governance, and continuous improvement.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

Inventory and Stock Management

• Maintain accurate inventory records and support a healthy MB52 book quantity position on SAP.
• Conduct daily cycle counts on high-risk and high-value materials to proactively identify material losses, gains, and abnormal movements ahead of formal stock counts.
• Support monthly stock takes by preparing count sheets, validating count readiness, consolidating variances, and ensuring evidence is available for review.
• Track and report stock accuracy, SRA performance, cycle count closure, and recurring variance themes.
• Escalate materials with repeated gains/losses to the Logistics Manager, Process Engineers, and Finance for review & take appropriate actions to control it with the help of process engineers
• Ensure control & monitor the rework generation & consumption
• Work on digital solutions to control MVA

SAP and System Transaction Support

• Verify Goods Receipt Notes (GRNs) by reconciling SAP entries to weighbridge net weight data and physical receipt evidence.
• Monitor and clear daily COGI errors, coordinating with DHL, Production, Logistics, and relevant teams to resolve delayed or failed material movements.
• Check SAP material movements against actual shopfloor consumption and flag discrepancies for root cause analysis.
• Support correction of delayed transfers, wrong storage location postings, archived stock in transit, and abnormal movements impacting inventory accuracy.
• Maintain a daily SAP exception tracker covering COGI, GRN gaps, transfer delays, negative stock, unusual movements, and unresolved posting errors.

Production and Process Alignment

• Prepare daily process order analysis against Bills of Materials (BOMs), planned consumption, actual consumption, and confirmed finished goods output.
• Support Process Engineers by preparing material usage packs that show theoretical versus actual consumption by material, line, process order, and production area.
• Support mass balance and waste accounting by tracking material conversion into finished goods, rework, waste, scrap, and other accountable streams.
• Provide weekly MUV review inputs by allocating system and physical losses to the appropriate area for technical validation.
• Track corrective actions agreed with Process Engineers, Production, and Logistics until closure.

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Continuous Improvement

• Participate in Management of Change (MOC) initiatives, especially formulation changes, process changes, trial materials, and new handling requirements.
• Collaborate with SUIT Lead, Planning, Process Engineering, Logistics, Quality, and Finance to validate BOM accuracy and perform regular BOM health checks.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that improve inventory accuracy, reduce waste, strengthen SAP discipline, and improve material traceability.
• Prepare simple visual dashboards and trackers for daily and weekly reviews, including trend analysis and recurring issue themes.
• Support process discipline through coaching and follow-up with material handlers, production teams, and third-party partners where gaps are identified.

Governance, Controls and Escalation

• Maintain supporting evidence for material variance investigations, including SAP extracts, weighbridge data, count records, production confirmations, and sign-off records.
• Ensure unresolved variances are escalated through the correct governance route and not informally corrected without evidence and approval.
• Support Finance and Process Engineering with structured packs for weekly and monthly MUV reviews.
• Protect segregation of duties by ensuring that the role supports analysis and evidence gathering, while technical mass balance interpretation remains with Process Engineering and financial sign-off remains with Finance.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Experience and Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree/diploma in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, Finance, Accounting, Operations Management, or a related field.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret data and identify patterns.
• Basic knowledge of SAP or another ERP system is advantageous.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, data cleaning, and basic analysis.
• Attention to detail with a strong commitment to accuracy, evidence, and governance.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across shopfloor, office, and third-party teams.

Skills

• Analytical problem-solving and attention to detail.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management.
• Planning, prioritisation, and multitasking in a fast-paced factory environment.
• Knowledge of Lean principles, 5S, and basic continuous improvement methodology.
• Ability to coach and guide others on system discipline and process compliance.
• High ownership, resilience, and comfort working with ambiguity and urgent operational priorities.

LEADERSHIP

• You are energised by delivering results and using data to make problems visible.
• You are an example to others through discipline, follow-through, and resilience.
• You take responsibility for your own wellbeing while delivering high standards of work.
• You are humble, curious, and willing to learn from shopfloor teams, process experts, logistics teams, and finance stakeholders.
• You interpret evidence and data smartly, spot issues early, and escalate in a way that helps the business make better decisions.