Wellbeing Collective – Assistant Manager, CM Operations & Capabilities- Supply Chain

Unilever; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Pension scheme

Free gym membership

Staff shop discounts

Employee shares

Job summary

Unilever’s Global Wellbeing Collective (WBC) seeks an Assistant Manager for Contract Manufacturing Operations and Capabilities to elevate our global CM footprint across Europe and the Americas. You will partner with CM suppliers, drive capacity planning, and shape strategic sourcing while aligning with regional teams and cross‑functional partners.

The role emphasizes operational excellence, data‑driven decision making, and a proactive, globally minded mindset in a fast‑paced environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in Supply Chain Planning and/or Procurement, or with 3rd-party Contract Manufacturers.
• Ability to navigate global networks and diverse geographies.
• Strong analytical, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Standardize CM processes and governance across regions to improve service and lead times.
• Drive global capacity planning and enable investment for growth across Europe and the Americas.
• Develop and maintain benchmarking matrices for CM performance and risks.
• Collaborate to evolve sourcing strategies and tie them to international expansion.

Skills

Supply chain planning

Procurement

CM onboarding

Negotiation

Stakeholder mgmt

Tools

MS Excel

MS Project

PowerPoint

Job description

WHO ARE WE?

We are the Global Wellbeing Collective (WBC) team at Unilever. We are a global business unit (GBU) that is less than 5 years old, focused on one of Unilever’s largest growth opportunities – the €160bn Health & Wellbeing space defined by Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (VMS) as the product category. Our ambition is to be a top 3 player globally in this segment of Consumer Healthcare. We work in an agile and entrepreneurial way, collaboratively within the team and with our Unilever colleagues around the world. We work in a project based networked way where everyone needs to be able to take a step back and think strategically as well as rolling up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, to be entrepreneurial and experiment as well as bringing in the best of Unilever and work the structures of a large company, to take charge and lead as well as follow and support others.

OUR BUSINESS

Unilever’s Wellbeing Collective is our ~€2.5bn global business unit under Beauty & Wellbeing, we hold a portfolio of acquired brands including Equilibra (Italy), Olly, Liquid IV, SmartyPants, Welly, Onnit and Nutrafol, all in the US. Each brand is completely unique and focused on giving consumers superior experiences within their respective spaces and target segments, and largely only exist in their acquired home markets. For the acquired businesses, we are committed to continue growing them for Unilever through international expansion, utilizing Unilever’s scale and GTM networks in the markets. In the past 2-3 years, we have expanded a few acquired brands into markets such as China, Canada, UK, Australia, India, Mexico, Brazil, HongKong and Singapore. The next stage of international expansion is to expand our footprint into markets like Korea, rest of Europe, with further roll‑outs into SEAA, rest of LATAM soon.

Help Shape the Future of Contract Manufacturing for The Wellbeing Collective

The Wellbeing Collective (WBC) SC CM Operations & Capabilities Assistant Manager will join a fast-growing and entrepreneurial global business unit within the International Expansion team. With ~€200mn turnover and >60% USG YoY, the team operates with agility, collaboration, and a strong bias for action. As our global footprint expands, we are rapidly building a network of regional and local 3rd‑party Contract Manufacturers (CMs) across the world. Many of these CMs are specialized in VMS/Consumer Healthcare formats and new to the Unilever network, requiring strong operational setup and robust Supply Chain capability building.

JOB PURPOSE

We are looking for an ambitious, globally minded Assistant Manager with European & LATAM market experience and a strong background in Supply Chain and/or Procurement to help elevate our worldwide Contract Manufacturing (CM) Operations with primary responsibility for Europe and North & Latin America, while also collaborating with Asia CM Operations colleagues where cross-regional alignment is required. Our CM Operations & Capabilities team manages the performance and capability agenda of 8–10 Contract Manufacturers across China, APAC, Europe, and North & Latin America — covering €50mn spend (2025) and ~400 SKUs. Working with regional SC teams and the CM Procurement Lead, you will drive CM performance across service, cost, cash, agility, and quality. Beyond daily operations, you will help build future capabilities, support strategic sourcing initiatives, and shape the evolution of the global CM network.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Your Mission Standardize, uplift, and strengthen CM capabilities globally to improve service, reduce lead times, MOQs, enhancing flexibility, agility and operational discipline.

Main Responsibilities

• Support Global Capacity Reviews & Enable Investment for Right-Sized Growth Lead and support global CM capacity planning reviews to ensure the network can meet WBC’s growth ambitions. Identify constraints, evaluate future capacity needs, and help unlock investment requirements to secure scalable, fit-for-purpose manufacturing capacity.
• Standardize & Harmonize CM Processes Drive global process standardization across the CM network by aligning governance routines, quality systems, KPIs, and performance management approaches to create consistent, efficient, and high-performing operations worldwide.
• Strengthen Global CM Benchmarking Enhance and maintain the Global CM Benchmarking Matrix to enable consistent, data-driven assessment of CM performance, capabilities, and risks across all regions, ensuring clear visibility of gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Advance Global CM & Supply Chain Sourcing Strategy Work closely with the CM Operations & Capabilities Manager to evolve the CM and sourcing strategy for International Expansion. Lead data analysis, capability benchmarking, scenario assessment, and technical capability mapping (e.g., VMS formats, packaging technologies) to support strategic sourcing and long‑term Supply Chain decisions.
• Drive the CM Capability Step-Up Program Support the delivery of capability-building initiatives focused on resiliency, cost efficiency, margin improvement, and quality enhancement to uplift overall CM performance.
• Support Future Market Expansions Enable the next phase of WBC’s global expansion from 2026 onward—particularly in Europe, Canada, and LATAM—by ensuring Contract Manufacturers are operationally prepared and equipped to scale successfully.
• Embed CM Operations Into Category SC Processes Contribute to the deployment of an integrated CM Operations & Capabilities framework aligned with Category SC SOP processes, enhancing visibility, governance, and cross‑functional integration.

ALL ABOUT YOU

The ideal candidate brings strong experience in European Contract Manufacturing and/or Supply Chain or Procurement operations, with the ability to navigate diverse markets and complex global networks. You are naturally curious, proactive, and globally minded, energized by the challenge of working across different geographies, business cultures, and operating models. You are an exceptional communicator who can influence and collaborate effectively with both internal stakeholders and external manufacturing partners across multiple regions. You are passionate about operational excellence, continuous improvement, and capability building, and thrive in roles that require both strategic thinking and hands‑on execution. Finally, you feel at home in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment, bringing agility, resilience, and a strong sense of ownership to everything you do.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Proven experience in Supply Chain Planning and /Procurement, or working with 3rd-party CMs
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills for CM onboarding and change management
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage ambiguity and shifting priorities
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and presentation abilities
• Experience in VMS / Consumer Healthcare (gummies, tablets, capsules, powders) a plus
• Experience working with new suppliers/3PMs; strong understanding of MOQ, lead times, cost structures, and import/duty considerations
• Good understanding of Supply Chain cost drivers and P&L impact
• Comfortable working in a global, virtual team setup
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills
• Proficient in MS Excel, MS Project, and PowerPoint

NOTES

What We Offer Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, free gym, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment. Whilst the role is advertised on a full‑time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you.

We are a key advocate of wellbeing 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.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. 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.

We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self.

To find out more: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.