Ice Cream Quality Lead, North America

Travel 30% North America

Overview

Quality is a key driver of competitive advantage in the ice cream business. The BU Quality Head plays a crucial role in embedding a strong culture of quality within the business unit, ensuring every product delivers the best experience and delights our consumers. This role champions product safety and superior quality, leading teams with passion and precision to uphold the highest standards.

The Quality Director NA IC leads all aspects of Quality of products in IC North America with a Turnover of 2.5 billion USD. The role will be responsible for deploying Quality strategy, governance and goals that directly impacts marketplace success, our credibility with customers, consumer safety and on‐shelf quality of our products in the marketplace. This in turn impacts Unilever reputation and brand equity in ensuring quality for new innovations and promotions.

The role has direct interface with 5 UL factories; tens of Third-party collaborative manufacturers on shore and import; 450 Customers (Gold, Silver, Bronze); (FDA, USDA, CFIA, Health Canada, and EPA) Regulatory Authorities.

Key Responsibilities:

• End-to-end quality responsibility across the entire region: Design, Sourcing Raws and Packs, Manufacturing, Distribution, Cold Chain and Customer/Consumer Feedback
• Member of the NA Leadership Team and Global Quality Leadership team.
• Define and deliver the global and BU quality strategy and effective management systems
• Lead BU quality team and talent development within the function
• Conduct regular audits and inspections to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of quality control procedures.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams, suppliers, and external stakeholders to address quality issues and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

• Investigating customer complaints and implementing corrective and preventive actions to address quality issues and prevent recurrence.
•  Communicate quality objectives, performance metrics, and improvement initiatives to senior management and key stakeholders.
• Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes to ensure the company remains compliant and competitive in the market.
• Support BU teams to enable them to develop and implement the Quality Management System (QMS) to ensure fully compliant products - develop and maintain all relevant procedures in line with the requirements of the Global policies and procedures
• Ensure that the QMS is maintained in a state of inspection readiness.
• Ensure systems are in place to manage local embellishment, re-pack, and co-packing work to meet all relevant standards and local requirements.
• Maintain an effective Change Management system to ensure business changes are effectively managed.
• Investigate quality issues (Non-conformances) and failures, lead Critical Event Process and apply Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) to prevent recurrence. Advise regarding CAPA necessary at BU quality level for items not under local control. Ensure that improvements to products and procedures can be identified and fixed.
• Audit/Inspection Management – Ensure that processes are in place to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the local QMS.
• Ensure a routine review program and audits are in place for Third Party providers.
•  Drive and deploy a digital Quality transformation program
• Lead in the BU E2E Culture Quality Transformation Program

Professional Skills & Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of North America food safety regulations and standards: Ensuring compliance with regulations such as HACCP, FSSC22000, and  food labeling requirements.
•  Quality management expertise: Developing and implementing quality control procedures, conducting audits, and managing quality assurance programs to maintain product safety and consistency.
• Analytical skills: Utilizing data analysis tools to monitor quality metrics, identify trends, and implement corrective actions to improve overall product quality.
• Communication skills: Collaborating with cross-functional teams, suppliers, and regulatory agencies to address quality issues, communicate quality objectives, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Problem-solving abilities: Resolving quality-related issues, investigating customer complaints, and implementing corrective and preventive actions to prevent quality deviations.
• Experience in virtual teamwork.
• Experience in developing and maintaining a robust QMS, familiar with external accreditation audit process.
• Track record of delivering quality performance improvement within multiple large to small manufacturing sites;
• Auditing skills, appropriate qualifications as lead auditor;
• Clear understanding and ability to assess and act upon product safety, quality, efficacy, and compliance risks;
• Understanding of global and operational business strategy and challenges;
• A proven leader who is committed, enthusiastic, and capable of mentoring and upskilling the quality team.
• Proactive approach: Anticipating potential quality issues, implementing preventive measures, and continuously seeking opportunities for improvement.
• Being flexible and responsive to changing regulations, market trends, and customer & consumer preferences to ensure quality processes remain effective and efficient.

The role currently reports to the Ice Cream Chief Quality Officer

Are you a brave problem solver with Consumer passion?

Do you have continuous improvement mindset and find clever solutions to a variety of challenges?

Are you a supportive listener and interested in understanding others?

Are you a team-player with a lot of energy and positive attitude?

Do you want to make impact and be part of the Ice Cream Quality Transformation journey?

Then please apply for this role, you might very well be the one we are looking for !

What We Can Offer You

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Pay: The pay range for this position is $210,600 to $421,200. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs.

Bonus: This position is bonus eligible.

Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible.

Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverages for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion 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. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

For more information about your Federal rights, please see Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination isIllegal and Pay Transparency Non discrimination Provision.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at NA.Accommodations@unilever.com. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses. The Protected Veterans or Individuals with Disabilities AAP narratives are available for inspection by any employee or applicant for employment Monday through Friday during normal business hours at establishment.