Microbiologist (Oral Health R&D) Industrial Placement Weybridge 2023

Hello. We’re Haleon. A new world-leading consumer healthcare company. Shaped by all of us. Together, we’re improving everyday health for millions of people. By growing and innovating our global portfolio of category-leading brands – including Sensodyne, Panadol, Advil, Voltaren, Theraflu, Otrivin, and Centrum – through a unique combination of deep human understanding and trusted science. What’s more, we’re achieving it in a company that we’re building together. In an environment that we’re co-creating. And a culture that’s uniquely ours. Care to join us. It isn’t a question.

Future Talent roles at Haleon offer the chance to change the way people see and manage their everyday health. That’s an incredible opportunity. An exciting challenge. And a huge responsibility. We’re always looking for ambitious individuals who are inspired by our purpose to deliver better everyday health, with humanity. And want to help us achieve this goal. Right now we’re looking for industrial placement student in R&D Microbiology to join us to do career defining work.

A career in Oral Health R&D where none of us stand still

The microbiology placement in our R&D facility in Weybridge which is primarily dedicated to developing oral health products (e.g. toothpaste, mouthwash, denture products) will give you hands-on practical application of the theoretical knowledge you have gained at university. As a member of the R&D Microbiology team, you will use this knowledge to develop and manage R&D innovation projects, as well as building microbiology innovation capabilities aligned to the needs of the business and our consumers. Successful findings from your project could be used to help shape the future design of consumer health care products on the market!

Throughout your time with us, you will be applying existing skills but also developing new skills, for example, personal leadership, collaboration, effective communication, time management and prioritization whilst working with a leading Consumer Healthcare company. To help, you will work with and learn from an experienced and supportive team of microbiology experts. They will coach and mentor you during your year to help you achieve your potential.

What will your individual contribution at Haleon be?

• Lead microbiology research projects, by first seeking to understand key objectives, success criteria, timings for deliverables and structuring your work accordingly.
• Take accountability for project leadership, providing early communication if there is a risk of not meeting a deliverable.
• Design meaningful experiments (Design to Value) and conduct laboratory work to good scientific practices and GMP.
• Maintain laboratory notebooks and documentation relevant to your assigned duties and responsibilities.
• Develop and maintain your scientific expertise by scientific literature to bring new ideas and potential technical solutions.
• Prioritise work in accordance with the needs of the business.
• Adopt a strong teamwork ethos, showing a willingness to contribute to other projects (both Innovation and NPD) and also disseminate projects learnings to build the wider groups capabilities.
• Write technical papers/presentations/reports to enhance personal, departmental and corporate reputation.
• Seek advice from colleagues and management when unexpected results occur or when major changes to project plans are considered and act pro-actively to address these.
• Look for innovative improvements and better ways of working whilst striving to eliminate non-value-added steps out of processes and procedures.
• Ensure all work is conducted to appropriate EHS and Quality requirements as appropriate.

Benefits

To recognise your dedication, energy and effort, benefits include:

• A salary of £22,500
• An annual bonus linked to performance
• Employee recognition through our global scheme which rewards exceptional achievements
• On-the-job experience and formal and informal training and development, delivered through a mixture of coaching, mentoring and formal training programmes
• Health and wellbeing programmes to take care of your physical and mental health

Who you are

We’re the people changing the future of everyday health. So you will be someone who has:

• Creative and problem-solving thinking
• Strategic/big-picture thinking
• Entrepreneurial and agile mindset
• Strong prioritisation and analytical skills
• Personal accountability
• Business and consumer/customer knowledge and understanding
• Adaptability and resilience in ambiguity
• A desire to learn and have meaningful impact

To enable you to perform in this future talent opportunity:

Education required

Must be on track for a 2.1 (or above). You will have completed a minimum of 2 years of your undergraduate degree in microbiology, biomedical or life sciences but will not have graduated at the start of your placement. Microbiology must be a component of your course. You may be expected to provide evidence from your university to show you will be an undergraduate student for the duration of the placement year and they are supportive of your placement.

Other requirements

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

• A passion for microbiology and a desire to help develop the types of products that will improve the health and meet the needs of our consumers.
• Experience in oral microbiology, biofilms and microscopy would be advantageous, although not essential as the candidate’s ability to utilize technical problem solving would be of greater value for this role. The necessary Microbiology training needed for this project will be provided.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

At Haleon we embrace our diverse workforce by creating an inclusive environment that celebrates our unique perspectives, generates curiosity to create unmatched understanding of each other, and promotes fair and equitable outcomes for everyone.

We’re striving to create a climate where we celebrate our diversity in all forms by treating each other with respect, listening to different viewpoints, supporting our communities, and creating a workplace where your authentic self belongs and thrives.

We flex the way we work so we can be at our best, where possible, and with agreement between line manager, team and individuals. We acknowledge not all colleagues can flex locations depending on their roles and that we don’t have all the answers. Yet.

We invite you to apply as soon as possible. The way we see it, every day is an opportunity. And we are joined by new talent, every day. We accept ongoing applications and will close this vacancy once we have enough applications.

Assessment centre dates: Assessment centres/interviews will commence from December onwards

Role start date: July 2023