Applications for this job are now closed
A Better business. A Better world. A Better you.
We are 128,000 people worldwide, with many recognisable brands in over 190 countries. We are a global company with the purpose of ‘Brightening everyday life for all’. On any day, 3.4 billion people use Unilever products to look good, feel good, and get more out of life – giving us the unique opportunity to build a brighter future.
Founded in 1929, Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes worldwide, including Dove, TRESemmé, Lynx, Hellman’s, Persil, Marmite, Wild, Vaseline, Colman’s and Pot Noodle.
With a €60.8 billion turnover in 2024 it’s no wonder that we are in 98% of houses in the UK, go have a look, we might even be in yours!
The programme
- Unilever Industrial Placement Programme - Applications will open on Monday 13th October 2025.
- 12-month placement, designed to provide real-life work experience and help you develop key skills for your future career.
- For penultimate year university students, who will return to university post-placement.
The functions
Research and Development – The R&D function creates and develops new technologies and new products for Unilever across the world. More than 5,000 people are working in R&D in a variety of roles! Our scientists explore and develop the technologies of the future, while our product developers use this science and technology to develop our next generation of innovations. From new deodorant scents to great-smelling shampoos, our R&D scientists create it all!
Supply Chain - Our supply chain function is responsible for getting our goods to customers and consumers. This includes sourcing raw materials, meeting manufacturing and packaging needs and delivering the end-product. Our supply chain comprises of around 100,000 employees, working with over 70,000 suppliers and more than 1.5 million farmers to manage a global logistics network.
Customer Development - The customer development (CD) function is responsible for fulfilling consumer needs with our products through our customers, covering all stores, supermarkets, and e-commerce channels. Working with retailers, they are well placed to help us predict tomorrow's shopping trends and ensure we execute these brilliantly, so our brands and products stand out.
Marketing - Our marketing function works to ensure that our consumers know about our brands and products. Our teams use market research and consumer insights to make sure that we’re always creating products that our consumers want and are promoted effectively to their target audience.
Human Resources (HR) - At Unilever, our HR team is focused on helping to drive business growth through partnering with our business leaders, line managers and people to unlock capacity and ensure they have the correct support so they are set-up for success.
Finance - The finance function is responsible for the financial operation, accountancy, and tax management of Unilever as a whole. The team also provides Finance Business Partners to work collaboratively with Unilever employees in other functions who require finance input (e.g., agreeing on budgets for projects).
Digital & Technology – This function plays a vital role in powering Unilever's business operations. It’s the delivery engine that enables our company to run every day. This function brings together our technology, data, and analytics capabilities to ensure that every single employee has the tools and technology they need to do their job.
Data & Analytics (D&A) are a passionate team of over 350 data experts including data scientists, information experts, technical specialists, and business analysts. Our vision is to transform Unilever into a data-intelligent enterprise, where every decision and action is powered by the best data and advanced analytics (AI) to deliver on business goals.
Legal - The legal function provides supervision of the many legal matters that a large company like ours must deal with. They include taking out patents for our innovations, drafting partnership arrangements, managing data privacy, and dealing with marketing claims.
Communications - The communications function promotes Unilever’s achievements, enhances its reputation, and liaises with the press. It develops news stories and features both for our external website and our internal news centre. The function also manages Unilever’s social media accounts – LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter – and runs a media relations team with a press office.
Sustainability – We believe that sustainable business drives superior performance and through our work we seek to make sustainability a core in our business and with all our brands. The sustainability function plays a critical role in providing strategic leadership, global partnerships, advocacy capabilities & subject matter expertise.
