Customer Development (Sales) Placement

Job Details

Customer Development (Sales) Placement

Your Future Employer

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home, and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 3.4 billion consumers a day. Founded in Port Sunlight (Wirral) in 1929 by Lord Lever, Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, TRESemmé, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Marmite, The Vegetarian Butcher, Graze, Vaseline, Sure, Wall’s, Colman’s and Pot Noodle.  

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the desire for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’.

What do we look for? 

You don’t need a specific degree background – this is an area where your personality will set you apart. It takes a special blend of ambition, people skills, and commercial acumen; you’ll need to be credible and confident in front of people and have a passion for growing businesses, coupled with the power to influence and negotiate.  

With a strong performance culture, challenging goals, and continuous feedback, we will support you to achieve your potential in an inclusive environment. You will thrive by gaining exposure to real business challenges where your energy and fresh thinking will have an impact. First-hand experience- it’s the fastest way to learn. 

Students must have completed the penultimate year of their undergraduate degree by the time they start their placement and be returning to study after their placement.  

The role: Customer Development 

Customer Development (Sales) ensures that our brands are available wherever the shopper wishes to buy them. The focus of the role is to manage relationships with retailers to effectively drive our business and theirs. Our aim with the retailer is to develop and execute our overall brand & customer strategy and customer business plan, to drive the growth and profitability agenda within Unilever. Our customers recognise the effectiveness with which our work drives our business and theirs, which has led to several retailers (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Boots, and Nisa) recognising us as their supplier of the year. 

Whilst no two Customer Development Industrial Placement is the same you will get the chance to work with exceptional brands and develop your analytical, commercial, and marketing skills whilst working with some of the UK’s leading retailers. As part of the programme, you might get the opportunity to work in either the commercial team, the commercial strategy team, the shopper marketing team, or the category management team. Regardless of the team, you will have a strong support network, a bespoke training programme, and the opportunity to partner with multiple teams across the wider business.

What could your day-to-day role include (depending on your role)?

• You’ll develop your commercial knowledge and numerical skills.
• You’ll build partnerships with our wide range of customers – Grocers, Health and Beauty Retailers, Value Stores, and E-commerce Businesses - so that we reach our target markets.
• That could mean working together to maximise a new product launch, recommending the right range of products, developing marketing programmes, negotiating an annual business plan, or looking for new business opportunities.
• You’ll also work closely with our internal teams – Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance – to ensure everyone is aligned to deliver the best outcome for our retailers & consumers.  

Our people have the opportunity to help build a bright future for our world, making a big impact every day, on a local level, across Europe and the globe. We have a proven tradition of developing our purpose-driven leaders and encouraging innovative thinking. 

Some of our positions you could be allocated to include:

• Customer Account Executive, Tesco - Home Care
• Customer Account Executive, Heron - Personal Care, Beauty, Home Care & Nutrition
• Shopper Marketing Executive – Home Care
• Category Executive – Personal Care

Skills required include:

• Selling
• Commercial Strategy
• Negotiation
• Customer Relationship
• Microsoft Office skills (Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint)

Please note, at Unilever, we have development programmes, the skills above are skills that would be good to have at the beginning however you will develop them over the course of the 12 months.

Our application process involves: 

Step 1: Online Application

Complete the online application form and tell us about your motivation for choosing Unilever and your selected programme. It is a simple and easy process!

Step 2: Digital Interview

If your online application is successful, you will be invited to complete a digital interview.

Step 3: Virtual Discovery Centre

You will be invited to spend a virtual day in the life with us, immersing yourself in business challenges and an Interview. 

What Can Unilever offer YOU?

• A competitive Salary of £24,787.75
• End of Placement Bonus
• Discounted Staff Shop
• Opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.
• 28 days (pro rata) of holiday inclusive of bank holidays. Once you have completed 12 worked weeks, under the Agency Workers Regulation your holiday entitlement will increase to 33 days inclusive of bank holidays, pro rata for the term of this placement.  

Diversity at Unilever is about championing inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities, and growing together for better business performance. To celebrate this, we have internal networks and communities created to raise awareness for a cause, which work to create change within the business. These networks include Proud, Empower, Enable and Unity and our communities include Thriving Parents, Carers, and All Inclusion Club.  

We give full and fair consideration to all applicants, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.    

We are a key advocate of well-being and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes, and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all. 

What support will you receive? 

• A dedicated buddy to help you onboard and learn about the business.
• An experienced Line Manager to develop your knowledge and understanding across the year. 
• Connections with the Graduates (UFLPs) who can share helpful tips on how to be successful at Unilever.  

Do you require any adjustments in the application or assessment process?   

If you do need any adjustments, please inform the Talent Acquisition team who will contact you to discuss the accessibility options available. E.g., If required extending time spent in any ‘timebound’ assessments/interviews.  

*We also provide accessibility options such as magnifying glass, decrease/increase the font size, change font & colour, screen ruler, and screen mask for everyone who would require support.  

Location:  

Hybrid working with a minimum of 2 days required weekly within the Kingston office.

Discovery Centres:

Our virtual Discovery Centres will be running from the week commencing the 20th of January 2025.

Closing date:  

Our applications will be closing on the 30th of December 2024 however, if we receive enough applications for the business area before this, applications will close accordingly. We, therefore, advise you to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.  

If you have any questions about your application or if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made to complete any part of the application process, please contact the Future Careers Team. If you would like to discuss any mitigating circumstances before making an application, please also contact the team using the following contact details:   

Recruitment Fraud 

Cybercriminals advertise fake job adverts with prestigious employers as a way of stealing information or even defrauding individuals out of money. In the most sophisticated cases, they will set up fake websites, which have a similar address to companies like Unilever. They even conduct fake telephone interviews and then offer candidates a role with the proviso they pay a fee for background checks or to cover work visa costs. These types of attacks are becoming more common as more people are looking for employment in the economic climate. 

How is Unilever tackling this? 

Many of Unilever’s recruitment sites publish a warning to candidates about recruitment fraud. The Cyber Security team also proactively scans for signs of people setting up fake Unilever sites and acts to close them down. 

What can I do? 

If you become aware of potential recruitment fraud, spot fake Unilever recruitment adverts or fake LinkedIn profiles, report them via Una Live Chat. 

Unilever does not accept responsibility or liability for any candidates who are financially impacted by recruitment fraud. Your vigilance is key!  

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in the world. It makes some of the world’s most loved brands: Dove, Lynx, Ben & Jerrys, Sure, Magnum, Knorr and Hellmann’s, to name a few. Unilever takes care of the whole supply chain of its products, from development and sourcing right through to production, marketing and distribution. 149,000 people globally produce brands that are sold in 190 countries and used by 3.4 billion people daily.

How to apply

To apply for this role and to find out more, please click on the apply button.

Please note that applications may close before the application deadline, so apply early to avoid disappointment.