UFLP Research and Development UK 2025

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-seated 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.

Graduate Scheme (UFLP) - UK & Ireland  

FUNCTION: Research and Development (R&D) 

Your Future Employer 

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home, and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 3.4 billion consumers daily. Founded in Port Sunlight (Wirral) in 1929 by Lord Lever, Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, TRESemmé, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Marmite, The Vegetarian Butcher, Graze, Vaseline, Sure, Wall’s, Colman’s and Pot Noodle.    

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the desire for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’.  

What do we look for?  

• We require a strong technical qualification in chemical/biological/physical/engineering/food-related science/maths/coding/computer science or similar discipline   

• Motivated, authentic, and ambitious future leaders who can apply their qualification expertise in a business context  

• A forward-thinking and passionate leader to contribute towards a cleaner, more sustainable future through exciting innovations.  

• Visionaries that will fall in love with the problem, not the solution - we need people who are hungry to solve some of the industry’s biggest challenges (sustainability for instance). Impact at this scale takes time!  

• Collaborative & inclusive individuals who are excited to work alongside an international network to create superior products for our consumers.   

The role: Research and Development  

For a business whose very purpose is to create a sustainable future, that future begins in Research & Development (R&D). This is the origin of ideas for brands, products, packaging, manufacturing, and technology. Your work could impact millions across the world. Our people make a big impact every day on a local level, across Europe, and the globe.  

What will the programme involve?  

Over three years and at least four