Unilever Food Solutions Lead Greece & Cyprus

Business Context and Main Purpose of the Job:

Unilever Food Solutions is an independent Global Business Unit, which is the 5th largest BU in Unilever. UFS is ~20% of Nutrition BG and operates in 76 markets with a Turnover of about €3 Bn. We have a compelling ambition: To be a €5 Bn business by 2030, becoming the leader in digital selling in the food service industry, the best solution provider for our Operators and the planet, and a Winning People Engine.   

UFS operates with a different business model with greater emphasis on chefs and field sales to drive demand creation with operators in a B2B setting. UFS is a unique business within Unilever, with a constant focus on executional excellence and consistent productivity improvements leading to significant value creation, which is enabled by the expertise in the professional foodservice channel that comes with a dedicated foodservice business unit.  

UFS is the place where we will be all Chefs supporting Chefs! At UFS we have an entrepreneurial culture with a commitment to speed, simplicity and trust, whilst having a hunger to grow – both our business and our people. UFS also proudly commits to high employee engagement every year with UniVoice scores ahead of Unilever across all dimensions. 

It is the place where you can be a risk taker, test and iterate, and be a trendsetter. You can think and work like an owner of our own business and be ahead of the curve. With the purpose of “We free you to love what you do” and the DNA “having empathy for the people we serve and the expertise to meet their needs 24/7” you will become a part of a “People-to-People organization.” 

The UFS Lead for Greece & Cyprus is responsible for driving substantial growth across the HoReCa market, continue investing in transformation and digital agenda, increase penetration & leading a high-performing team towards our purpose to be “the best solution provider in the Food Service Market”. The role reports to the SE MD (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Adria)

Unilever Food Solutions has a winning story during Covid disruption, succeeding in +62% USG & +74% UoP vs record-high 2019, massively growing our 2 big brands Hellmann’s & Knorr.

Main Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute long-term strategy to drive sustainable and profitable growth whilst ensuring delivery of in-year P&L and annual business targets
• Oversee the operations in Greece & Cyprus ensuring compliance with company policies, standards, and goals. 
• Monitor and evaluate business performance, using relevant metrics (KPIs/OKRs) to drive continuous improvement. 
• Lead and mentor a cross-functional leadership team providing guidance, coaching, and performance feedback, including direct reports from Finance and Marketing.
• Lead the business transformational agenda (digital selling, data analytics, data-driven decision making) & capability building agenda (digital selling, negotiations, account & area planning, culinary, etc) 
• Ensure core business process effectiveness while driving the Operational Excellence agenda through simplification and an opex mindset.
• Identify, attract, and retain the right profiled individuals and focus on developing people investing in their growth
• Ensure business is adequately resourced to deliver business results
• Build UFS reputation by representing UFS externally with customers and in the general Foodservice Industry​

​Key Interfaces:

• ​SE Finance manager
• SE HR business partner
• SE Marketing Lead
• SE peers (HoC)
• Supply chain (GR, UFS)
• Local Board team
• ​External Customers – Strategic Partners, C&C, Customers, Chefs network
• ​External Stakeholders – agencies and associations  

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Preferred Skills:

• Excellent commercial acumen, strong business development & distributor management credentials with a proven track record on delivery
• Motivating and inclusive leadership profile
• Entrepreneurial, can-do mindset
• Understand current and emerging trends and their potential impact on the business
• Strong Agility & Resilience: The ability to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions
•  Acting on future-proofing talent, skills and organizational structures to drive superior performance.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience in Sales and Marketing leadership roles
• Experience in B2B environments is preferred but not required.
• Strong Financial / P&L acumen
• Understanding of digital technologies, their capabilities, how they impact the ways of working and how job scopes are changed as a result.
• Food Culture: understand and be passionate about Food and the Food culture that we are creating through UFS. 

Rewards & Benefits

• Hybrid way of working
• Competitive salary with performance-based bonuses
• Unlimited access to Unilever Learning Platform and Trainings that feels more like an adventure and less like a lecture
• Exciting team-building activities because we believe in having fun while achieving greatness
• Health and life insurance for you and your family
• Monthly allowance for lunch

CVs will be treated in strict confidentiality.

Candidates, who meet specified qualifications, will be contacted by e-mail or telephone.

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.