Procurement Manager – Sustainable Sourcing, Wood Based Materials

ABOUT UNILEVER

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. Our strategy begins with a purpose that places consumers at the heart of everything we do: Brighten everyday life for all. Our goal is to deliver best-in-class performance with market-making, unmissably superior brands. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world. At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our collaborative and flexible working environment. Our organizational ambition centers around creating workplaces that foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging across all aspects of our business. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

ABOUT PROCUREMENT

Part of the Supply Chain family, Procurement is responsible for over 30B Euro of material and services spend globally with more than 60,000 suppliers. Getting the right services and materials, sustainably sourced and ensuring responsible procurement is critical to ensuring our brands with purpose grow. Our teams work closely with the business to understand stakeholders' needs, bring innovation to meet changing consumer, employee, and customer needs, and drive financial value for Unilever through competitive buying. We’re at the forefront of digital procurement, bringing new tools and analytics to drive data-based decisions. Our strategy is ‘Procurement with Purpose’ and focuses on buying responsibly, buying better, and growing together with partners around the world. Our ambition is based on three key drivers: being Purpose-Led, Value-Driven, and Future-Fit.

JOB PURPOSE

Find your purpose at Unilever. You will lead innovations, big and small, that will make our business win and grow. You will learn from brilliant business leaders and colleagues in a truly global and diverse culture. If you are passionate about procurement and its role in driving a positive impact for the business, our customers, and consumers, then this role is just for you.

This is a dynamic and core role in Unilever’s sustainable sourcing team. Our new sustainability goals are stretching, yet realistic. We are determined that Unilever will deliver against them, just as we are determined to perform against our financial goals. Our sustainability strategy focuses on four issues: climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods. Those core topics were chosen as they are those that are most material to our business and where we can make the biggest impact.

As part of our refocused sustainability strategy, we are also refocusing the resources in Procurement to deliver and implement our sustainability strategy and these four priorities. This new role will play a critical part in delivering the impact we want to achieve in delivering these goals in our wood-based supply chains.

The role will be expected to lead the development of the wood-based packaging and materials sustainability roadmaps and strategy to achieve the goals of sustainable sourcing, managing a deforestation-free supply chain, developing programs to address social issues, and achieving GHG reductions. The role may also look to support the sustainability of biofuels and biogenic sourcing for our own manufacturing.

As part of overall program development for these portfolios, it will need to consider how wood-based products may be used as a future feedstock in renewable chemistry and packaging materials or as sustainable feedstocks for bioenergy. The role will need to work to define sustainable supply chain strategies accordingly.

Crucially, the role will be end-to-end responsible for the development of the compliance mechanisms, supply chain programs, digital tools, reporting, and contractual clauses required to maintain a deforestation-free supply chain for our wood-based supply chain.

Working collaboratively with subject matter experts across the sustainable sourcing team, the role should identify opportunities to partner with peer companies, guide and shape external platforms and engagements that deliver impact.

The role requires strong leadership ability, exceptional project and stakeholder management skills, and excellent communication capability.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

• Business partner the procurement teams to develop roadmaps for sustainable wood-based packaging, taking into account local challenges and issues.
• Liaise with subject matter experts across the business to ensure that sustainable sourcing strategies are contributing to the goals of Protecting and Restoring Nature and other compass commitments, leveraging opportunities to design programs that achieve multiple targets.
• Champion the development/design of impact programs across the portfolios in alignment with potential for social and environmental impact.
• Development of contractual clauses to ensure adherence to No Deforestation targets and living wage, living income, GHG targets as applicable.
• Ensure alignment and/or leverage of the climate and nature fund as applicable.
• Develop systems and process set up for program development and execution.
• Design programs according to consistent methodology for baseline and impact metrics and applying best practice or standards as may be required for claims.
• Lead process to ensure reporting of KPIs and impacts whilst building capabilities across the teams.
• Identifying and managing partnerships for driving programs.
• Participating and representing Unilever in industry forums linked to forest products.
• Supporting portfolio sustainability teams and procurement teams in driving impact programs.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO SUCCEED

• Outstanding in idea generation, ideas that are forward-thinking, and that contribute to creating sustained competitive advantage.
• Strong at selling ideas to his/her business partners, internally and externally, translating these into effective proposals conveying value and communicating it accordingly.
• Appreciative of the value and impact of outstanding execution with a keen eye for detail.
• Act as an entrepreneur, treats business as his/her own, sets trends and is willing to lead, follow or get out of the way.
• Behave as a Partner with Purpose ambassador and demonstrate the value procurement adds to the business.
• Genuinely committed to Unilever’s sustainably led business model, connected with Unilever and the business agenda.
• Well balanced breadth and depth approach with strong people development skills.

Experiences & Qualifications

Essential:

• Solid background in procurement, sustainable sourcing and/or supply chain, with demonstrated experience at a management level.
• Strong stakeholder management skills.
• Drive for operational excellence and execution as well as strategic thinking and foresight.
• University degree.
• Fluent English is required to operate in a global and multicultural environment.

Preferred:

• Experience working in multiple geographies.
• Experience in Agri commodities in particular forest risk commodities.
• Experience in dealing across cultures and time zones.
• Experience with complex contracting clauses, deal design negotiation.

Skills

• Professional experience related to the fields of sustainability, agriculture, forestry, agroecology and agronomics implementation and or research, environmental and rural development/social work.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate/influence colleagues and in the process holding oneself as well as others accountable for reaching ambitiously set targets. Proven and recognized achievements in sustainable sourcing, supplier development, and relationship management.
• Strong stakeholder management & communication.
• Agriculture / Forestry project management and/or program design experience.
• Project & change management.
• Experience in dealing with environmental and social non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
• Experience in commodity standards, certification, and roundtables.

Leadership

• You are an inclusive motivator of people. Your team delivers with real passion, growing and learning from each other whilst delivering quick wins.
• You are still responsible for your own results and as a manager, you also need to motivate others to deliver with passion, creating an inclusive and engaging climate around you. You can balance challenge with support and coaching. You understand the wider business context and you are emotionally intelligent enough to motivate people to deliver what is needed.

Critical SOL (Standards of Leadership) Behaviors

• PERSONAL MASTERY: Sets high standards for themselves. Has emotional intelligence to take feedback, manage mood and motivations, and build empathy for others.
• PASSION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE: Generates intensity and focus to motivate people to deliver results at speed. Takes personal responsibility and accountability for execution and results.
• TALENT CATALYST: Invests in people – coaches individuals and teams to realize their full potential. Creates an inclusive climate, empowering everyone to be at their best.
• PURPOSE & SERVICE: Has humility, understanding that leadership is service to others, inside and outside Unilever.
• CONSUMER LOVE: Invests time inside and outside to understand the needs of consumers.
• BUSINESS ACUMEN: Creates sustainable growth with purpose, engaging different partners across the system for change.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

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.