Unilever Future Leadership Programme - Sales UK

Unilever; Kingston; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary £35,000

Pension scheme

Annual bonus

Staff shop discounts

Relocation support (£5,000 loan)

Job summary

Unilever invites high-potential undergraduates to join its Future Leaders Programme in the UK, a 36-month rotational development track. You will start in a function, work on live projects, and build essential leadership and commercial skills through multiple placements across Sales, Category, Shopper Marketing and Brand teams.

You will gain hands-on experience with iconic brands, participate in cross-functional rotations, and be supported by mentors, to be ready for your first management role.

Qualifications

• No specific degree background required; personality and commercial acumen matter.
• Strong initiative, people skills, and ability to influence and negotiate.
• Ability to work across functions and live projects.

Responsibilities

• Build partnerships with retailers to ensure product availability.
• Develop retailer plans and negotiate promotions.
• Gain broad experience across Customer Management, Category, Shopper Marketing, and Brand.
• Work on live projects to develop commercial and leadership skills.

Skills

Selling

Commercial Strategy

Negotiation

Customer Relationships

Leadership potential

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Our Future Leaders Programme will ignite the leader in you. This unique programme is designed to develop Unilever’s Future Leaders (UFLs) by providing challenging and purposeful opportunities that accelerate their readiness to take on business leadership roles. The Unilever Future Leaders Program (UFLP) is a global initiative enabling Unilever to build a strong talent pipeline that will support and lead our business growth. In the UK, our UFLP is a 36-month rotational leadership development program for which we recruit top-performing undergraduate talent who demonstrate the potential to become managers within our business. It’s designed to grow you into a manager, through hands‑on learning alongside world‑class experts. You’ll be hired into a function and develop your leadership skills by working on live projects which offer you all the experience you need to become ready for your first management role. At the heart of it, it’s about developing tomorrow’s leaders, today. From Day 1, you will take on real business challenges within your own function and across the organization. Along the way you will develop deep core professional skills and leadership skills, and build a robust support network. On top of all that, you will have a lot of fun along the journey. We look for people who want to get to grips with the inner workings of a vast business and a desire to understand how it works. It’s about commitment, real people skills and a deep‑seeded interest in the business as a whole. You’ll become part of a leading‑edge company, where you’ll work with outstanding brands and outstanding people to drive sustainable business growth. Your Future Employer Unilever is one of the world's leading FMCG companies, home to iconic brands including Dove, Vaseline, TRESemmé, Lynx, Persil, Domestos, Surf, Radox, Sure and Liquid I.V. Through products used by millions of people every day, we help improve health, wellbeing, confidence and care around the world. Established over 100 years ago, Unilever has a proud heritage of innovation and a long‑standing belief that great brands, great people and responsible business go hand in hand. Today, we are transforming into a faster, more focused growth company centred on Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care. Through world‑class brands, cutting‑edge science and technology, digital innovation and AI‑enabled capabilities, we are building unmissably superior products and experiences for consumers around the world. A career at Unilever offers the opportunity to work at global scale while helping shape the future of some of the world's most recognised brands.

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 initiative, people skills, and commercial acumen; you’ll need to be credible and confident in front of people and have a passion for growing businesses competitively, coupled with the power to influence and negotiate.

The role:

Customer Account Management (Sales) All of our brands have a powerful role to play in realising our vision for a sustainable future. You will have the opportunity to work on some of these amazing brands across different categories. Customer Account Management brings them to the customer, ensuring that they are available wherever the shopper wishes to buy them. With our key retailers, you will manage and build strong working relationships. Harnessing skill and sensitivity whilst developing and executing plans makes all the difference to our business and theirs.

What will the programme involve?

The three-year, world-class development programme is full of variety and challenge, with the opportunity of promotion to manager level after three years. You’ll develop your leadership skills by working on live projects that offer you all the experience you need to become ready for your first management role. Over three placements we’ll make sure you gain broad experience in several different areas to develop your commercial expertise, for example: Customer Management (Sales), where you will build relationships, examine relevant data, own financial forecasting, agree on a tailored business plan, and negotiate promotions. Category Management, where you will oversee a category of products, become an expert on the marketplace and our competitors, and advise customers on suitable ranges for their shoppers. Shopper Marketing – You’ll work closely with both the Customer Management teams and Marketing teams, to develop retailer‑specific media plans, to activate key brands. Customer Strategy – you’ll work closely with Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain functions, as well as the Sales teams to manage the link between brand ammunition and customer execution within a specific product category. Brand Management - you will have the opportunity to undertake a placement in marketing and get exposure to commercial marketing working with iconic brands like Dove, Persil, Sure, and Marmite, managing brand mixes to maximise their potential across product, place, price, and promotion. First‑hand experience – it’s the fastest way to learn. The Unilever culture is varied, friendly, and encourages innovative thinking. We will push and support you to achieve your potential, whilst giving you the chance to shape your career path according to your interests, strengths, and ambitions.

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

You’ll build partnerships with our wide range of customers – supermarkets, superstores, convenience stores, drug stores, discounters, online retailers, and even theme parks – 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. Our Customer Insight and Innovation Centre allows us to work with our customers in exciting new ways.

Some of our positions you could be allocated to include:

• Customer Account Exec
• Category Exec
• Shopper Marketing Exec
• Customer Strategy and Promotions Exec
• Assistant Brand Manager

Skills required include:

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

What Can Unilever offer YOU?

• A Competitive Salary of £35,000
• A Benefits Envelope which has a notional value of 25% of your pensionable earnings. Use it to save for your pension, get extra taxable pay or both.
• A pension Scheme
• Annual Bonus
• A discounted staff shop
• Subsidised Gym Memberships - availability varies by site
• Shares
• Relocation Support through a £5000 tax free loan
• 25 days of holiday allowance

Diversity at Unilever

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.

Unilever is an organisation 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. At Unilever we are interested in every individual and the talent they can bring. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

What support will you receive?

A dedicated buddy to help you onboard and learn about the business. A dedicated Career Sponsor, who can support you with your growth & development throughout the total duration of your programme. An experienced Line Manager for each of your functional rotations, allowing you to gain a breadth of experience. A bespoke Learning & Development Plan, designed to help you build your leadership skills. Opportunities to gain leadership experience outside of your functional rotations.

Location:

Hybrid working with a minimum of 3 days required weekly spread across external customer meetings and our Kingston office.

Travel Required:

Approximately 10-25% of your time, depending on your functional rotation.

Discovery Centres:

TBC

Closing date:

This is a rolling deadline, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment in case applications close early.

Start date:

September 2027

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#LI-Remote Better Business. Better World. Better You.

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