Unilever Future Leaders Programme - Research & Development

Unilever Future Leaders Programme - Research & Development

Our Future Leaders Programme is designed to ignite the leader in you. This unique programme develops Unilever’s Future Leaders (UFL) by providing challenging and purposeful opportunities that accelerate their readiness to take on business leadership roles. The Unilever Future Leaders Programme, or “UFLP”, is a 3-year traineeship programme that offers the opportunity to develop into an experienced future-fit professional. Bring your enthusiasm, curiosity, and innovative ideas to start your learning journey at Unilever as a UFLP.

For more information about the application process, requirements, and why you should apply, please visit our UFLP Netherlands website.

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) businesses, reaching 3.4 billion consumers daily with 128,000 employees globally. We create beloved products – from nutritious foods and household care essentials to luxurious shampoos – sold in over 190 countries. Our goal is for every product to make a positive impact on people's lives through our brands, operations, contributions, and societal engagement.

Due to a high volume of applications, please carefully read the job descriptions on our website and apply for the role you are most interested in. Your application will be considered for one track, the first one you apply for.

What will you be doing as a Research & Development UFLP?

By joining the Unilever Future Leaders Research and Development Programme, you will see how Unilever's purpose to make sustainable living commonplace and create a brighter future begins in R&D. We are delivering this future in our Foods business through Unilever's recent bold new ‘Future Foods’ Ambition, which aims to:

• Deliver fewer, bigger, science-powered innovations that are globally scalable to drive real impact across our Foods portfolio.
• Improve nutrition and sustainability by upgrading recipes, reducing waste, and lowering our environmental footprint.
• Build a Future-fit R&D Model, driven by pioneering people and powered by cutting-edge Digital and AI technology.

R&D is an integrated part and enabler of this ambition. Unilever has invested in the new Foods Innovation Center – called ‘Hive’ – located at the ‘Silicon Valley of Food’ in Wageningen, Netherlands. This center helps formulate the next generation of food, including meat and dairy alternatives, focusing on affordability, sustainability, and taste. Since 2019, ‘Hive’ has been a hotbed of ideas for brands, products, packaging, manufacturing, and technology innovation.

As an R&D UFL, you will participate in and lead global innovations for our famous Foods brands. You will develop products from concept ideas to full-scale production, with a heavy emphasis on feasibility and understanding consumer needs. You will develop technologies and science for specific food products to make them healthier, more appealing, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly, ensuring they can run on our factory production lines. You will also work with more than 35 different nationalities in a highly educative environment.

Unilever R&D is transforming its organization to adopt agile ways of working through tools, practices, principles, and a flexible mindset. Agile methodologies enable continuous planning, prioritization, and collaboration across teams, squads, and functions. You will be part of an Innovation Ecosystem, potentially working with technology partners, driving global programs, or collaborating with universities, scientific institutions, start-ups, and industry innovators to solve business challenges. The limitless opportunities at Unilever foster fully engaging innovative entrepreneurship, allowing our people to make a big impact every day. The Unilever Future Leaders Programme - Research & Development is about making a significant impact right from the start. Unilever's culture encourages growth through positive change, impact, influence, and market share.

What do we look for?

This career path is for you if you are ambitious, determined, excited by recent technological developments in food, and passionate about making the global food system healthier and more sustainable, while strategically thinking about harnessing their value on a global scale. We are looking for candidates who can affirmatively answer the following questions:

• Are you currently pursuing a Master’s degree in areas such as Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Life Science & Technology, Process Engineering, Food Technology, Data Science, Consumer Science, or any other relevant degree?
• Are you a scientist/engineer with a genuine business interest?
• Do you have an external focus and actively seek collaboration?
• Are you motivated for continuous development and a steep learning curve?
• Do you have a great passion for Foods and Research & Development?
• Do you act proactively and responsibly?
• Do you have a growth mindset and feel like a true leader?
• Do you want to work on products that impact two billion people daily and are sold in 190 countries?

What will the programme involve?

You will develop your individual leadership skills by working on projects that provide the experience needed for your first management role. Over 3 years, you will take on a variety of roles across our businesses.

• Career possibilities: You will undertake up to four R&D rotations within 3 years, with potential for international work. You may have the opportunity for one rotation outside of R&D (based on business demand) to understand the full scope of our business. You will work in cross-functional and global teams, gaining hands-on experience with real projects where you can make a genuine business impact for growth, people, brands, and sustainability. The program is packed with variety and challenge, designed to lead you to your first managerial position.
• Support and empowerment: We will support your journey to senior management, but much of your progress will be self-driven. You will need to be focused and ambitious, identifying opportunities and taking responsibility for your own development. Each UFL is assigned a mentor to guide them through the 3-year program.
• Professional training: The program includes a wide range of internal and external training to build specific R&D skills and knowledge, as well as leadership skills. You will receive all the support needed to build your personal development plan.

We have a proven tradition of developing purpose-driven leaders and encourage innovative thinking. Future-focused feedback and challenging goals drive innovation and ambition within a performance culture and an inclusive, informal environment. First-hand experience is the fastest way to learn. The Unilever culture encourages innovative thinking, pushing and supporting you to achieve your potential while shaping your career path according to your interests, strengths, and ambitions.

Requirements For Application

• Eligibility to work in the Netherlands is a must before the employment start date of the UFLP programme on September 1st, 2026.
• You must have obtained your Master’s degree (WO level) by the start date of the UFLP on September 1st, 2026.
• An intermediate level of Dutch is preferred but not required. (Please complete your SOVA digital interview in English).
• We recommend applying with a maximum of 5 years of experience to benefit most from the traineeship.
• Search year/Orientation year visas are not accepted. Unilever cannot support visa requests in any form (R&D talents, EU nationals, and candidates with asylum residence permits are excepted from this requirement).

Application Process

Our online application process runs from March 2nd, 2026, to March 21st, 2026. You must finalize the Online Application, Online Assessment, and Digital Interview before March 21st, 2026, to be eligible for the UFLP. Note: We work on a first-come, first-served basis. It will take a few days to finish all online application stages, so complete them as soon as applications open.

The entire selection process consists of:

• Stage 1: Online Application: Complete the simple and easy online application form, with the option to fill out details using your LinkedIn profile.
• Stage 2: Online Assessment (Personality/Profile assessment): Complete two stages of profile assessment: a portrait personality test and an online assessment, designed to evaluate cognitive, emotional, and social traits. You will receive personalized feedback after each stage.
• Stage 3: Digital Interview (Online): This includes 3 short questions followed by a business case, asking you to solve real-world problems using Unilever scenarios. You can record and complete your interview anytime, anywhere. (Please complete your SOVA digital interview in English).
• Stage 4: Discovery Center Day (Physically at the Rotterdam office): You will be invited to a ‘day in the life’ at Unilever, experiencing a face-to-face day with exciting activities including project meetings, business challenges, a team meeting with Unilever colleagues, and an interview. Our Discovery Center Days will take place between April 13th and April 30th at our Rotterdam office. Physical attendance is mandatory.
• Stage 5: Job Offer

What Can Unilever offer YOU?

• A competitive starting salary of 52,700 EUR gross yearly, including holiday allowance.
• 30 company-paid holidays, excluding public holidays.
• A company pension scheme with a low pension contribution of 3%.
• Annual performance-based bonus.
• Multiple job rotations based on your track and learning needs.
• Personal and functional learning and support along the way.
• Share scheme.
• Home working allowance.
• My Fitness Plan (deduction on your Fitness Subscription).
• Company laptop and mobile phone.
• Green mobility policy.
• Informal culture and the opportunity to be among the first to try new products.
• An inclusive culture, brought to life with interchangeable public holidays, six weeks of paid paternity leave, and our transgender policy.

Do you need any special requirements to complete the application process or the online assessments?

The application process includes an online assessment and a digital interview. We automatically provide accessibility options such as font size adjustments, font & color changes, screen ruler, and screen mask via a 'Recite Me' toolbar on the platform. If you need any other reasonable adjustment to complete any part of the application process, please let us know in the application form (stage 1). For additional assistance, contact the Talent Acquisition team at UFLP.ApplicantsBNX@unilever.com. Please check your spam folder regularly for correspondence during the recruitment process.

Unilever is committed to diversity and inclusion to drive business results and create a better future daily for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce enables our growth ambitions and promotes inclusion. At Unilever, we value every individual and their talent. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

Key skills/competency

• Research & Development
• Innovation Leadership
• Sustainable Food Solutions
• Process Engineering
• Food Technology
• Data Science
• Consumer Science
• Agile Methodologies
• Global Project Management
• Strategic Thinking