Job Title: Foods Technical Project Leader (TPL) – Formulation & Process (R&D)
Location: Borg Knorr Factory, Alexandria
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. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. 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 inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We do not 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 FOODS
Foods is an exciting global category where you get to work on global brands such as Knorr and Hellmann’s while shaping local innovations that delight consumers across the NALI markets.
The Foods business strives to bring the taste everyone loves to brighten every day through delivering consumer-led innovation, driving sustainable growth and building industry-leading capabilities. Within R&D, we develop products that consumers love, trust, and choose repeatedly by combining science, technology and consumer understanding.
JOB PURPOSE
Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work you do – creating a better business and a better world.
The Technical Project Leader (TPL) – Formulation is responsible for leading end-to-end product development and deployment activities for innovation, renovation, value improvement and business continuity projects across the NALI Foods portfolio. The role leads cross-functional project teams, drives technical decision making, ensures successful industrialization and delivers products that meet consumer, quality, nutrition, regulatory and business requirements.
This role is ideal for a candidate passionate about product development, project leadership, factory implementation and transforming innovative ideas into successful products in market.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead end-to-end technical delivery of Foods innovation, renovation, value improvement and business continuity projects across NALI markets.
- Act as the R&D Technical Project Leader and drive cross-functional project teams to deliver project objectives, timelines and business commitments.
- Lead formulation development activities from concept generation through commercialization.
- Develop, optimize and validate product formulations to ensure compliance with consumer, quality, nutrition, regulatory and cost requirements.
- Coordinate project activities with Marketing, Supply Chain, Procurement, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Manufacturing and external partners.
- Lead risk assessments and proactively manage technical risks throughout project lifecycles.
- Design and execute laboratory studies, pilot trials and factory validation trials.
- Support product qualification activities including sensory, stability, shelf-life, performance and microbiological assessments.
- Lead industrialization and scale-up activities to ensure smooth transfer from laboratory to factory.
- Support troubleshooting and problem-solving activities for existing products and manufacturing processes.
- Ensure integrity, accuracy and maintenance of formulations, bills of materials and product specifications within specification management systems.
- Drive technical compliance with Unilever standards, local regulations and customer requirements.
- Collaborate with regional and global R&D teams to deploy technologies, capabilities and best practices.
- Generate, analyze and present technical data to support business recommendations and project decisions.
- Identify opportunities for cost optimization, formulation simplification and continuous improvement.
- Stay informed of emerging technologies, ingredient developments, consumer trends and regulatory changes relevant to the Foods category.
- Contribute to capability building, knowledge sharing and continuous learning within the R&D organization.
ALL ABOUT YOU
Experiences & Qualifications
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology or a related scientific discipline.
- Suitable years of experience in Foods R&D, Product Development, Formulation, Process Development or Technical Project Management.
- Experience leading projects within cross-functional teams.
- Experience in product development, scale-up and manufacturing implementation.
- Experience generating and interpreting experimental data and translating findings into business recommendations.
- Strong understanding of food ingredients, formulations and product development principles.
Preferred Requirements
- Experience in savoury products, bouillon, seasonings, soups, sauces or culinary products.
- Experience using specification management and product lifecycle management systems (SAP PLM preferred).
- Experience in Design of Experiments (DoE) and statistical data analysis.
- Experience working with regional or global project teams.
- Understanding of nutrition, regulatory and quality requirements in foods products.
Skills
- Strong project management and prioritization skills.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing capability.
- Ability to work effectively across cultures and geographies.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset.
- Ability to make data-driven decisions.
- Strong collaboration and relationship-building skills.
- High level of ownership and accountability.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic business environment.
- Digital mindset and ability to use technical and business systems effectively.
- Passion for innovation, consumers and technology.
LEADERSHIP
You are energized by delivering excellent results. You take ownership, demonstrate resilience and continuously seek opportunities to improve performance and ways of working. You collaborate effectively with others and contribute positively to team success.
Critical Standards of Leadership (SOL) Behaviours
PASSION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE
- Takes personal responsibility and accountability for execution and results.
- Uses data and insight to drive decisions and deliver business impact.
PERSONAL MASTERY
- Sets high standards for self.
- Demonstrates learning agility, resilience and continuous improvement.
CONSUMER LOVE
- Keeps consumers at the heart of decision making.
- Translates consumer insights into meaningful product solutions.
PURPOSE & SERVICE
- Demonstrates humility and a service mindset.
- Builds trust through collaboration and integrity.
AGILITY
- Adapts quickly to business needs and changing priorities.
- Continuously learns and explores new ideas, technologies and solutions.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- This role may require travel within Egypt and the NALI region to support factory trials, project implementation and business needs.
- The role requires participation in sensory assessments and product tasting as part of product qualification activities.
- Hybrid working arrangements will follow Unilever Egypt policies and business requirements.
DIVERSITY STATEMENT
Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life. We give full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development opportunities for 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.