Scientist - Human Safety

Job Title:
Scientist – Human Safety

Location:
Colworth R&D, Sharnbrook UK – Hybrid

At Unilever, we are committed to developing safe and sustainable products for our consumers. As a Human Safety Scientist within our Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Sciences (SERS) team, you will provide scientific expertise to help assure the safety of Unilever ingredients for both consumers and the workers who make our products.

You will be part of a supportive team of safety scientists, where you will continue to develop your own expertise while contributing to the development of others through informal mentoring, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving. You will work within multidisciplinary teams, including biologists, bioinformaticians, computational chemists, and mathematical modellers, to apply novel and mechanistic approaches to exposure and safety assessment.

You will play a key role in bringing robust, cutting-edge science into our safety assessments, ensuring they meet both current and future business needs. You will work alongside some of the industry’s most respected scientists, learning new risk assessment approaches, growing as a professional and enjoying opportunities to publish and present.

The role is based in the dynamic environment of the SERS team at Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook, near Bedford, offering strong development and career opportunities within a successful global company.

• Assess human safety risks associated with ingredients with an emphasis on applying novel (non-animal) approaches.
• Deliver transparent, well documented, exposure-based risk assessments to enable robust decision-making. This will include clearly communicating the outcomes of these risk assessments, providing input to broader communication to maintain trust in the safe use of Unilever products.
• Contribute to the evolution of our approach to exposure-driven risk assessment including working with external groups.
• Build an understanding of the wider issues surrounding the use of ingredients and products.
• Be part of a team making an impact internally & externally on the way in which safety risk assessments are conducted and communicated now and in the future.
• Work closely with other SERS and Unilever scientists, as well as external collaborators, to provide expert scientific advice on new scientific approaches to non-animal safety assessment.
• Promote the acceptance and adoption of new scientific approaches external to Unilever through interactions with key opinion formers with international reputation and influence.

You will be able to work effectively and with impact in cross-disciplinary teams and in multicultural environments, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability within a fast-changing business environment.

The successful candidate will have:

• A degree (BSc, MSc, or equivalent) in Toxicology or a related scientific discipline relevant to assessing the safety of human chemical exposure
• Experience of toxicology/consumer safety risk assessment and its application in an industrial context (FMCG, healthcare setting)
• Awareness of novel, non-animal approaches to safety assessment and their potential application for decision-making
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills including ability to convey scientific subject matter in a simple manner
• Evidence of a creative, problem-solving mindset
• A high level of self-motivation, with a proven track record of collaborating effectively in interdisciplinary teams
• Ability to work with scientists from other disciplines as part of multidisciplinary teams
• Strong team-working skills, with the ability to contribute effectively both as a leader and as a team member

It would be desirable for candidates to have:

• Post graduate experience or a higher degree/ qualification (e.g., PhD)
• Knowledge/Experience of product safety regulations
• Project leadership experience
• Understanding of computational approaches applied to consumer safety risk assessment/Toxicology

Colworth Science Park is a vibrant scientific community with a strong academic and technical population of PhDs,…