Ice Cream Product & Innovation Engineering Assistant

Title: Ice Cream Product & Innovation Engineering Assistant

Scope: North America

Location: Covington TN, USA

Terms & Conditions: Full-time, International assignment is not available for this role and relocation for local and international candidates is not provided.

If you want to work for a global, leading Ice Cream player with €7.9bn Turn Over in 2023, come join Unilever Ice Cream! The Ice Cream business is operating in a highly attractive category, as we are part of the 1 trillion snacking and refreshment industry, growing consistently at high pace. We have strong brands equities: 5 of top 10 selling brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Magnum, Talenti, Popsicle, Good Humor, Klondike, and Yasso. We are investing to unlock the full growth potential of Ice Cream as a standalone entity, once we separate from Unilever, which is planned to happen by November 2025.

Ice Cream has distinct characteristics from Unilever’s other operating businesses and the growth potential of Ice Cream will be better delivered under a different ownership structure. As Ice Cream company we are committed to developing and nurturing talent as we build our diverse and inclusive culture. You will have ample options for career growth and exploration, allowing you to explore roles and opportunities across the new organization. Your career development will be a priority for us, and we are dedicated to supporting your growth journey within the new company. We hope that you will want to build the new chapter of our Ice Cream history together with us.

JOB PURPOSE: Manage the end-to-end delivery of innovation and technology projects for various IC brands.  Project work will be required in Covington Tennessee. The candidate may be dedicated to deliver a single project of significant size or a portfolio of smaller projects. Responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day management of projects & innovation including stakeholder engagement, contractor management, project safety, budget management. Reports to the Product and Innovation Engineering Manager.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: On Time In Full (OTIF) end to end delivery of assigned capital projects adhering to Unilever standards and ensure safety as our number one priority.

• Work to deliver an agreed portfolio of projects.
• Ensure professional project execution with strong stakeholder engagement along with a high level of communication to multiple levels of the organization.
• Prepare, schedule, coordinate and monitor the assigned engineering projects
• Monitor compliance to applicable codes, practices, QA/QC policies, performance standards and specifications
• Check feasibility of CAPEX projects working collaboratively with Quality, Safety, Manufacturing, Maintenance, Marketing, R&D and plant personnel to clarify the brief, understand work scope, estimate costs and create viable timelines.
• Work with internal Engineering teams and 3rd parties to develop Concept, FEED and Detailed Designs to meet the business need inputting local requirements and constraints as required.
• Develop Project Execution Plan and schedule.
• Execute the project ensuring adherence to schedule and budget.
• Manage site construction, contractors, and OEM’s ensuring Unilever Construction Safety Standards are applied.
• Knowledge of design and visualization software such as AutoCAD
• Assist factory with non-capital improvements identifying enhancements in ways of working to improve line or infrastructure efficiencies.
• End to End delivery of projects in accordance with UMS EEM Pillar.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED: 

You’re a born leader: Assist Product and Innovation Engineering Manager on capital, innovation, capacity, and value improvement projects in the Ice Cream category. Responsible for providing estimates, options assessment, and technical support for these projects. Carries out tasks related to project assessment, technical support and implementation with minimum supervision. Ensures compliance with Unilever Hygiene, equipment and safety standards, specifications, and best practices. This shall include formulation/process/equipment evaluations, industrial trials, preliminary engineering, project cost controls, timeline, establishment of commissioning plan, plant/equipment commissioning, production startup.

You’re a change maker: Our success is dependent on change, and the Product and Innovation Engineering Assistant role is a critical contributor to driving improvements against all business metrics (safety, quality, finance, innovation, etc).

You’re a dot connector: Liaison with all key stakeholders (departments) to ensure full alignment with project scopes, timelines, impact and key project milestones.  This role has significant interact