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Supply Chain Industrial Placement - UK and Ireland

Apply to the UK and Ireland Supply Chain Industrial Placement

Programme overview

The Unilever Industrial Placement programme is a 12-month placement in a specific function starting in June. This is for students finishing their penultimate year, who will return to University post placement. The 12-month placement enables you to learn on the job with real responsibilities, alongside a Unilever manager.

A Unilever employee smiling during a meeting with a colleague, using a laptop at a shared workspace.

What do we look for?

For our Technical roles, we are looking for students studying a STEM discipline. For our Non-Technical roles, we are open to students from any background who have an appetite for Supply Chain. Students must have completed the penultimate year of their undergraduate degree by the time they start their placement and be returning to study after their placement.

With a strong performance culture, challenging goals, and continuous feedback, we will support you to achieve your potential in an inclusive environment. You will thrive by gaining exposure to real business challenges where your energy and fresh thinking will have an impact. First-hand experience - it's the fastest way to learn.

Our Supply Chain Management Industrial Placements are a chance to showcase your ambition, thinking, and skills, with total support from a line manager and a buddy.

Most of our roles are based at our Port Sunlight, Leeds, Burton and Kingston sites, and applicants must be able to relocate to any of our UK locations.

A person working on a manufacturing production line at Unilever, wearing protective clothing and inspecting equipment.

Positions you could be allocated to

Supply Chain Technical

Process Engineer at our Leeds or Port Sunlight factories, working to eliminate defects, losses, and waste, and increase the stability of our production lines. Please note that Technical roles are available for students studying STEM disciplines only. •

Supply Chain Non-Technical

Portfolio Procurement Assistant at our Leeds or Port Sunlight offices, collaborating and negotiating with our suppliers, whilst championing our sustainability policies.

Customer Experience Specialist at our Leeds or Kingston offices, being the face of Unilever to our customer's supply chain, managing our interacting operation and strategy

What could your day-to-day role include?

Supply Chain is Unilever’s biggest function so there is a huge range of opportunities you could take on. Some of these could include (subject to role):

  • Helping launch the newest Beauty and Personal Care innovation.

  • Helping to deliver sustainable engineering projects at one of our UK factories.

  • Working in our UK head office, ensuring our products arrive on time and in full at our customers.

What skills do you need?

At Unilever, we offer structured development programmes. While the skills below are helpful at the start of your placement, you'll continue to build and develop them throughout the 12 months.

  • Data analytics and data-driven decision making

  • Strong problem-solving ability

  • Effective communication and business partnering

  • Stakeholder management

  • Microsoft Office skills (Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint)

What benefits will you receive?

  • Competitive reward

    When you join Unilever, you will start on a competitive salary of £26,107.25 as an IP and are eligible for an end of placement bonus.

  • Learning and development

    Together we'll help you to accelerate your learning and development through hands-on experience, mentoring and support for further education and professional qualifications if required.

  • Holidays

    We offer 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays.

  • Health and wellbeing

    We provide on-site gym facilities, regular health checks and an extensive suite of mental health resources.

  • Hybrid working

    Depending on your programme and role, you may work in a hybrid way, balancing 40% time in the office with flexible working. Some roles, such as factory-based positions, require full on-site working.

What support will you receive? 

  • A dedicated buddy to help you onboard and learn about the business.

  • An experienced Line Manager to develop your knowledge and understanding across the year.

  • Connections with the Graduates (UFLPs) who can share helpful tips on how to be successful at Unilever.

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I joined Unilever in 2018 on the Industrial Placement programme, working as part of the Global Domestos Marketing team. During my placement year I had the opportunity to lead some cutting-edge innovation projects for our toilet blocks categories, working with an incredible cross-functional team to understand current consumer problems and design solutions that could offer them superior solutions & experiences, and then landing these in partnership with our top European markets. Fast-forward 5 years and I've found myself back in the Global Homecare team, this time working on laundry brand Dirt Is Good (Persil, Skip, Omo). The experiences & confidence I built in leading projects during my placement year was so important to growing my own confidence and personal development, and is the key reason I wanted to return to Unilever after finishing university.

Joshua Hill

Industrial Placement Programme

Industrial placement application process

  • Step 1: Online Application

    Complete the online application form and tell us about your motivation for choosing Unilever and your selected programme. It is a simple and easy process!  

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  • Step 2: Online Assessment

    If your online application is successful, you will be asked to complete some online assessments designed to look at different elements of your personality, motivations and cognitive ability. 

    2

  • Step 3: Digital Interview

    If your online assessment is successful, you will be invited to complete a digital interview. 

    *Please note, we do not use AI as a screening tool in our recruitment process therefore, your digital interview submission will be reviewed by a real person* 

    3

  • Step 4: Virtual Discovery Centre

    You will be invited to spend a virtual day in the life with us, immersing yourself in business challenges and an Interview. 

    4

Apply now

To apply for the Supply Chain Industrial Placement, you'll be redirected to an external application platform where you can register and complete your application.

Apply to the UK and Ireland Supply Chain Industrial Placement

Do you require any adjustments in the application or assessment process?

If you do need any adjustments, please inform the Talent Acquisition team who will contact you to discuss the accessibility options available. E.g., If required extending time spent in any 'timebound' assessments/interviews.

*We also provide accessibility options such as magnifying glass, decrease/increase the font size, change font & colour, screen ruler, and screen mask for everyone who requires support.

Please contact the Talent Acquisition team at futurecareers.recruitment@unilever.com

Opening date: 13th October 2025

This is a rolling deadline, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment in case applications close early.

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