Together we can change the way the world does business. 

At Unilever we make products that people love – and that make a difference.  Nutritious foods. Household care essentials. Indulgent ice creams. Refreshing teas. Luxurious shampoos. Affordable, disease-combating soaps... and many more.  In fact, we make around 400 much-loved brands. Shoppers buy them in more than 190 countries.  That means you’ll find at least one of our products in seven out of ten households on the planet. And we want every one of those products to make a positive impact on the lives of the people who buy them.  That's why our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace, built around the three core beliefs: brands with purpose grow; companies with purpose last and people with purpose thrive.  Find out how our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan is driving long-term growth while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.

Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life through the work that you do, creating a better business and a better world. You will work with brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us.

(link: https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/)

We want consumers to be confident that our products are safe for them and their families, and better for the environment. The scientists at Unilever’s Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) play a key role in ensuring that our products are safe and our business is environmentally sustainable.  SEAC’s world-class reputation for safety (TT21C.org) & sustainability science (SS21C.org) plays a key role in Unilever achieving its purpose, by working across the business to build safety and environmental sustainability into everything we do.  We are committed to safety without animal testing and are leaders in non-animal safety science.  We strongly believe that we should #UseScienceNotAnimals.

(link: https://www.unilever.com/about/innovation/safety-and-environment/)

(BBC StoryWorks film: https://youtu.be/9qSL9_nfQu0)

SEAC is constantly looking to develop and apply Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) approaches. Working in multi-disciplinary teams, you’ll be applying both traditional microbiological risk assessment and NGRA approaches to assure the microbiological safety of Unilever’s innovations and products (Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment). You will also have the opportunity to play a role in leading the development of these NGRA approaches.

Please note: this is not a lab-based role.

Responsibilities

We are looking for a talented and experienced Microbiology Risk Assessor to join our SEAC team to:

• Deliver transparent, well-documented microbiological risk assessments to SEAC project teams to enable robust decision-making and communicate the outcomes internally and to business partners, providing guidance on risk management where necessary.
• Apply more complex NGRA approaches to ensure the safety of novel technologies with regard, for example, to antimicrobial resistance or changes in the human microbiome.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with key stakeholders internal and external to Unilever, e.g. business partners, academic partners.
• Lead the development of microbiological safety science through internal work or external collaborations, delivering to the current and future needs of Unilever’s business.

All about you:

We are looking for people with the right attitude, mindset and competencies. You’ll need to be able to work effectively and with impact in cross-disciplinary teams and in multi-cultural environments and be flexible and willing to adapt within a fast-changing business environment.

We would expect the successful candidate to have:

• A post graduate qualification in Microbiology (or similar relevant subject combined with microbiology experience)
• Knowledge of microbiological risk assessment and proven experience in its application in an industrial context
• Proven experience in leading scientific research projects, with good evidence of leading and delivering through external partnerships
• Knowledge of microbial ecology, host-microbe interactions, microbial physiology and clinical features of pathogenic microorganisms
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills including ability to convey scientific subject matter in a simple manner
• Evidence of a creative, problem-solving mindset

If you have the following skills, that’s an added bonus but not essential:

• Knowledge of mechanisms of action of antimicrobials and issues around antimicrobial resistance
• An understanding of the human microbiome and methods used to study it

How you’ll work with us – our values:

• We COLLABORATE to build our networks to unlock creativity & deliver innovation
• We strive for open, honest & TRANSPARENT communication
• We take control over how, when & where we work to ensure we are HIGH PERFORMING
• Our personal, physical, mental & emotional WELLBEING always takes priority
• We EXPERIMENT & LEARN in a safe space to meet Unilever’s needs
• We are guided by our collective purpose & passion for PIONEERING new science to protect people & planet
• People come first; we are SUPPORTIVE, we embrace flexibility, jump in to help out & ask for help when we need it
• We are INCLUSIVE; every voice counts & trust, respect & kindness are part of all we do

What do we offer:

• Opportunity to work on brands with the power to brighten peoples’ lives all over the world.
• Be part of a diverse and ambitious team shaping the future of Unilever brands.
• Exciting career opportunities in a global, purpose led business.
• We are looking for the right people for our roles and our ambition, we are open to talk about how our flexible working policies can make this role the right one for you.