BU Innovation Quality Specialist

Job Title

BU Innovation Quality Specialist

Quality – Supply Chain

Leeds, UK

Quality is a key driver of competitive advantage in the Personal Care and Beauty and Wellbeing business. The BU Quality Innovation Specialist plays a crucial role supporting business partners in delivering growth via innovation. The role drives a culture of consumer obsession, learning from insights, and delivering superior products. It encompasses business strategy, prioritising design cells and cross‑functional collaboration to ensure products deliver the best consumer experience, champion product safety and superior quality, and lead teams with passion and precision to uphold the highest standards.

The specialist will support and lead category quality for PC & BW products in Europe (turnover >2.5 billion EUR) and implement quality strategy, governance, and goals that directly influence market success, customer credibility, consumer safety, and on‑shelf product quality. The role primarily focuses on the Deodorant category but partners with the BU Quality Organization and other categories (Skin Cleansing, Oral Care, Hair Care, Skin Care).

The specialist will help maintain Unilever’s reputation and brand equity by ensuring quality makes brands unmissable and superior.

• Support governance to comply with product design and delivery standards as part of the innovation process.
• Partner with R&D, Brand, Supply Chain, and factories to integrate consumer insights into innovations, follow process for risk mitigation, and ensure safe products with early quality standards.
• Lead or support superior quality for innovation, continuously evolving with business expectations.
• Work with BU quality team to ensure suppliers, CM, and manufacturing are ready and capable of supporting innovation and changes.
• Act as a member of the Europe PC & BW Quality Team, representing the BU in innovation and change projects.
• Deliver BU quality innovation KPIs, measures, and improvements.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams, suppliers, and external stakeholders to deliver safe and superior quality First Time Right.
• Work with innovations and operations teams on consumer complaints, insights, and feedback to inform business discussions.
• Raise risks in technical steer‑com or IB to enable informed decision‑making with business teams.
• Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes to keep the company compliant and competitive.
• Support BU teams in developing and implementing the Quality Management System (QMS) linked to first‑time‑right innovations and compliance.
• Assist in developing new capabilities and improving current or new manufacturing sites for new innovations and major changes.
• Maintain an effective Change Management system to ensure business changes are landed first time right.
• Deploy a digital Quality transformation program.
• Support the BU E2E Culture Quality Transformation Program.
• Be the voice of quality in cross‑functional teams, influencing correct consumer‑centric decisions and challenging norms to develop new standards and methods across functions.

• Strong consumer understanding and ability to bring insights and influence teams.
• Understanding of global and operational business strategy and challenges.
• Experience in cross‑functional partnership with R&D, Marketing, and Supply Chain.
• Analytical skills: use data analysis tools to monitor metrics, identify trends, and implement corrective actions.
• Communication skills: collaborate with cross‑functional teams, suppliers, and regulatory agencies to develop new platforms for innovations and drive change.
• Problem‑solving ability: investigate consumer complaints, implement change for 5S, innovations, and transformation programs.
• Experience in virtual teamwork.
• Quality management expertise: develop and implement quality control procedures, conduct audits, and manage assurance programs.
• Track record of delivering quality performance improvement across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Clear understanding and ability to assess and act on product safety, quality, efficacy, and compliance risks.
• Proactive approach:…