Digital Supply Chain Manufacturing/Engineering/Safety Manager

Terms & Conditions:

If you are in the Unilever Ice Cream business or consider choosing to work for the Unilever Ice Cream business, you will work for the Global, leading Ice Cream player with €7.9bn Turn Over in 2023. The Ice Cream business is operating in a highly attractive category, as we are part of the 1 trillion snacking and refreshment industry, growing consistently at high pace. We have strong brands equities: 5 of top 10 selling brands including Wall’s, Magnum, Ben &Jerry’s. We are investing to unlock the full growth potential of Ice Cream as a standalone entity, once we separate from Unilever, which is planned to happen by November 2025.

Ice Cream has distinct characteristics from Unilever’s other operating businesses and the growth potential of Ice Cream will be better delivered under a different ownership structure. As Ice Cream company we are committed to developing and nurturing talent within our Ice Cream company. You will have options for career growth and exploration, allowing you for you to explore roles and opportunities across the new organisation. Your career development will be a priority for us, and we are dedicated to supporting your growth journey within the new company. We hope that you will want to build the new chapter of our Ice Cream history together with us.

Unilever Ice Cream is the world’s leading ice cream company, home to a portfolio of iconic brands like Magnum, Calippo, Solero, Festini, Talenti, and Yasso. We're committed to creating innovative products that bring unforgettable moments to our consumers—because, after all, “Life tastes better with ice cream.”

The Ice Cream division at Unilever is preparing to stand on its own, becoming an independent, EUR 8 billion single-category focused company by the end of 2025. This move reflects our belief in the power of our unique frozen footprint, which we see as having huge potential for growth as a pure-play business. Our focus is all about unlocking that potential, driving value for our consumers, customers, employees, and shareholders.

JOB PURPOSE:

Drive innovation and lead our business to new heights by spearheading the Digital Supply Chain (DSC) team. Collaborate with visionary leaders and diverse colleagues in a global environment, unlocking your full potential.

If you thrive on data and digital transformation, this role is designed for you.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Be a part of the Digital Supply Chain (DSC) team, a new team of 40+ FTE that will be pivotal in the Ice Cream Company’s ambition to be a Digital First company.

• Set up and manage the Make Tech branch of the DSC team. This branch is responsible for project management, and in some cases also execution, of all digital developments in Manufacturing, Engineering, and SSHE, on both a global and regional/local level. SC business will contact the team with development requests, and the team will assess, based on its strong knowledge of both supply chain (especially Make) and IT (available data, data structure, solution integration, current project pipeline, D&A capabilities, etc.) whether a request is sensible. The team then connects to IT, makes a business case, and eventually coordinates development. Mostly development is done by IT (in case of SaaS, or in-house development by the IT D&A team), but in specific cases the team has a mandate to build solutions itself to ensure a quick turnaround time of projects.

• Hire and manage three WL1s for the team: a Make Analyst, an Engineering Analyst, and a SSHE Analyst. Team members of the Make Tech team must have excellent knowledge of their respective supply chain functions (i.e. Manufacturing, Engineering, SSHE), as well as good understanding of data lake structures and basic data engineering and supply chain knowledge to ensure efficient throughput of projects.

• Give the DSC Make Tech team a strong identity and make it top-of-mind for all in SC (both global and regional/local) as the team to contact for all Make technology requests.

• Oversee the correct migration of existing Make systems and dashboards from Unilever’s systems into the Ice Cream Co’s own data lake / systems.

• Manage the transition from the existing local-dominated tooling landscape into a centralized landscape, in line with the “Global First, Local by Exception” digital agenda.

• Based on an end-to-end overview of Make technology, and based on strong knowledge of both IT systems and industry state-of-the-art, collaborates with Make functions and Excellence teams to continuously bring improvements to the Ice Cream Company’s Make capabilities.

• Be the face towards the business for all Make Tech requests.

• Mentor and develop team members, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED:

SKILLS:

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and guide a diverse team.

• Ability to set and execute strategic goals, aligning them with business objectives.

• Excellent communication skills to effectively liaise between IT, SC business, and SC leadership.

• Proficiency in managing complex projects, ensuring timely and successful completion.

• Deep understanding of IT structures, data lakes, digital supply chain technologies, and broad understanding of various aspects of Supply Chain.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to address complex supply chain challenges.

• Ability to identify and implement innovative solutions to improve supply chain reporting processes.

EXPERIENCES & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Supply Chain Management, Information Technology, or a related field. 
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in Manufacturing/Engineering roles with at least 3 years in a leadership role. 
• Demonstrated success in managing large-scale digital projects and cross-functional teams. 
• In-depth industry knowledge of supply chain best practices, digital manufacturing systems and emerging trends (e.g. AI, IoT) 
• Basic familiarity with Python, SQL, or equivalent 
• Basic familiarity with cloud computing (e.g. Azure)
• Manufacturing Softwares

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life. 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. 

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.