R&D Designer, H&B / R&D Project Lead, H&B-South Asia BU

Job Description

ABOUT UNILEVER:Be part of the worlds most successful, purpose-led business. Work with brands that are well-loved around the world, that strive to improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us every day. Every day, nine out of ten Indian households use our products to feel good, look good and get more out of life - giving us a unique opportunity to build a brighter future. We promote innovation, big and small, to make our business win and grow and we believe in business as a force for good. Our brilliant business leaders and colleagues provide mentorship and inspiration, so you can be at your best.At HUL, we believe that every individual irrespective of their race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, nationality, caste, disability or marital status can bring their purpose to life. So apply to us, to unleash your curiosity, challenge ideas and disrupt processes use your energy to make the world a better place. As you work to make a real impact on the business and the world, well work to help you become a better you!We are looking to hire a R&D Designer, H&B / R&D Project Lead, H&B, Skin Care South Asia BU based in MumbaiPurpose & Context:This is an opportunity to work as a TPL, with H&B skin care brands Vaseline, Dove and Ponds based out of Mumbai.The work would involve on Hand & Body range of products across the benefits platforms like Healthy Resilient Skin, Anti-aging and Moisturisation through innovative formats and technologies benchmarked to Local/International brands and compete them in Regional market place.We offer an agile and open-minded environment with strong, proactive, passionate scientific thinkers who are constantly seeking to independently work to deliver innovative technologies for business growth.In this role, you will have an opportunity to work as Cluster Design Project Lead, extending the end-to-end experience to incorporate the development and delivery of the product and claims.DeliverablesThe incumbent would be responsible for Product Design and Development for H&B platform in skincare -R&D. The job needs continuous interaction with Global & regional R&D teams, Marketing teams, Supply Chain, Procurement, Quality, Legal, Regulatory teams as well as external agencies as part of innovation product developments. It is expected that the incumbent, during the course of his/her work, will need to deliver to the following key goals:

• Carry out a holistic end-to-end product design, working in all aspects of product development: formulation design to fit to insight, meet benchmarks, sensory, assess product stability, efficacy, formulation interaction with packaging and scale up for manufacturing.
• Work with the Science and Technology team to develop and land innovations and new technologies.
• Understand the consumer habits & needs and translate to develop product solutions as needed by the business project briefs.
• Formulation Development: deliver to new product development briefs by designing experiments, prototyping and lab experiments, and delivering to finished product.
• Independently Scale-up formulations (Planning & Executing) from bench to Pilot Scale & from Pilot to Main Plant manufacturing levels.
• Design of stability testing and monitoring, interfacing with analytical laboratory, execution of basic analytical tests, in line with the global stability protocol
• Write formulation and process specifications and independently support the Technology Roll-out to the Sourcing Units, and implement processes at Unilever and third party manufacturing facilities.
• Preparation of product technology dockets and development reports.
• Operational interactions with Factories/Suppliers, Global R&D teams, etc.
• Generate product/raw material specifications in PLM/Interspec.
• Driving compliance and delivery of Innoflex/IPM/PortfolioManagement requirements.
• Execute consumer researches for innovation projects. Closely work with external agency to ensure the studies are well executed.
• Monitor competitor activity in terms of product quality and composition and make technical recommendations to counter competitive threats.
• Contributes to patents and publications as per the need of the work/research.
• Contribute pro-actively in identifying & supporting value improvement opportunities for portfolio of products.
• Ensuring compliance to Internal Unilever protocols while developing product solutions with respect to commitment to safety, environment, claim support, specification management etc.
• Work on raw material resilience initiatives.
• Understand risks and manage & mitigate those as appropriate
• Independently Manage all interfaces (Brand development, Procurement, Supply Chain, Quality) in cooperation with the Technical project Leader.
• Work closely with other functions (marketing, CTI, Regional R&D teams) to develop the product, Create scientific claims/ claim support and relevant communication to H&B portfolio and ensuring strong consumer relevance and engagement to H&B portfolio.

The role will include interactions with several interfaces like

• Unilever Global design team to select formulations from Unilever Wardrobe.
• Work closely with other functions, such as marketing and supply chain, to create, develop and deliver new products and innovations.
• Work and communicate effectively with different departments and functions to deliver against the project network timings and identify and manage risk.

Relevant Experience

• Postgraduate with knowledge of chemistry (preferably Pharmaceuticals/chemical engineering/Chemistry) with 8-10 years experience. Preferably on Skin care product development.
• Well versed with the Product Development Principles - formulation science, material understanding, product testing methodologies, etc.
• Well versed with R & D Processes and Protocols - stability protocols and formulation assessments with basic laboratory tools, analytical tests and instrumentation.
• Tech Savvy - Well versed with handling digital tools and platforms

Required Professional skills

• Effective communication skills (verbal/ written)
• Good interpersonal skills and a team player,
• Ability to work independently with Cross-functional team members
• Project management skills & Multitasking ability
• Drive, energy to make a real contribution
• Agile, proactive and enthusiastic working style
• Design thinking & Creativity