R&D Assistant Packaging Manager- 5S & Sustainability, Home Care Africa

Unilever is currently hiring for an Assistant Packaging Manager

Reports to: Packaging Manager Africa

Scope: Southern Africa/Africa – Packaging Development/Deploy Lead

Location: Johannesburg or Durban based

Terms & Conditions: Full Time Employment

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 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.

JOB PURPOSE

Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do – creating a better business and a better world.  If you are passionate in the development and delivery of packaging solutions for design/deployment of innovations into the category with savings & sustainability top of mind, then this role is just for you!

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

• Lead the packaging development workstream for category design and deploy projects to deliver category growth goals. Projects include new innovations, cost saving/ complexity reduction, sustainability, quality, and supply chain support activities.

• Identify, develop, and maintain an ecosystem of packaging support service providers for the development of technical drawings, packaging prototypes, component testing and packaging trials.

• Lead packaging exploratory projects by identifying concepts, testing and iteration through prototype development, evaluation and testing of consumer appealing competitive & profitable packaging/ product mixes.

• Exploit emerging digital technologies for testing prototyping, modelling for sound decision making, and proving concepts for the effective collaboration with business partners and implementation of packaging change projects.

• Monitor Competitor activity and assess use of packaging technologies for competitive advantage in terms of consumer appeal, functionality, and cost.

• Be responsible for packaging testing and component approval & qualification to ensure components meet consumer expectations, functional requirements, customer needs, cost targets, manufacturing, and distribution demands.

• Collect and develop information and data to create technical packaging component specifications. Key deliverables are to ensure maintaining data integrity and comprehensive business reporting.

• Partner with suppliers and cross functionally to identify cost saving projects, evaluate feasibility, establish capability, and lead implementation to achieve savings targets.

• Lead risk identification, assessment and action planning for packaging change projects and contribute to risk assessments for innovation and cost savings projects.

• Provide leadership for packaging change projects through project management, including such activities as clarification of project goals & scope, collaborating to develop business cases, and preparing detailed project plans.

• Partner with supply chain, the R&D network, and suppliers to land onshoring projects.

• Collaborate with Market facing brand teams to deliver packaging concepts, designs, specifications, and technologies to maximise the impact of products in the category.

• Grow the R&D packaging talent pool through development of self and contributing to the development of others in terms of technical packaging knowledge, professional and general skills.

• Keep abreast of and evaluate emerging packaging technologies for opportunities to contribute to sustainable growth category goals.

• Lead packaging trials and lead cross functional teams to deliver trials on time and with rigour / integrity.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Experiences

• At least 3 to 5 years’ experience in the packaging field, as a Packaging Technologist.

• Experience with regards to Rigid technology and Flexible film technology would be advantageous.

• Must demonstrate understanding of package development process and engineering principles.

• Must demonstrate ability to design and develop primary and secondary packaging components that meet consumer, Brand, customer, and manufacturing objectives.

• Must be able to demonstrate a general understanding of project management to realize the order, importance, and impact of appropriate project activities and maintain packaging commitments to project scheduling.

• Must understand consumer, business, and category needs and the relationship to packaging decisions & execution. An entrepreneurial mindset is beneficial.

Qualifications

Degree in engineering discipline - Mechanical, Chemical or Industrial engineering.

Any other critical personal characteristics or experiences/qualifications

The ideal candidate should:

• Be a pro-active problem solver

• Able to lead a team and encourage the delivery of others.

• Have the capacity to work autonomously to meet deadlines

• Be an excellent communicator (written and oral)

• Have the ability to influence

• Have an attention to detail and the capacity to work on several projects at the same time

• Ideally have a science or engineering degree

• Work stream leadership in a cross functional project environment.

• Project leadership in functional area.

• Packaging methods and measurement, testing, data analysis and reporting.

• Trial briefing, planning, co-ordination and execution. Trial reporting and analysis of outcomes.

Leadership

• You are energized by delivering fantastic results. You are an example to others – both your results and your resilience. You are constantly on the lookout for better ways to do things, engaging and collaborating with others along the way.

• As an individual you are the one responsible for your own wellbeing and delivering high standards of work. You must also focus on the Consumer and what they need. You are humble and have your head up, looking around to interpret evidence and data smartly, spot issues and opportunities to make things better.

• Critical SOL (Standards of Leadership) Behaviors

  • PASSION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE: Takes personal responsibility and accountability for execution and results. Has an owner’s mindset, using data and insight to make decisions.

  • PERSONAL MASTERY: Sets high standards for themselves. Actively builds own wellbeing and resilience.

  • CONSUMER LOVE: Whatever their role, always looks for better ways to serve consumers. Invests time inside and outside to understand the needs of consumers.

  • PURPOSE & SERVICE: Has humility, understanding that leadership is service to others, inside and outside Unilever.

  • AGILITY: Explores the world around them, continually learning and developing their skills.

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. 

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.