ManEx Support Manager - Foods

About Unilever
With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.
At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.
Job Purpose
Manufacturing Excellence (ManEx) Support Manager is responsible for driving the deployment, sustainability, and continuous improvement of Unilever Manufacturing System (UMS) across the factory. The role partners closely with factory leadership and cross-functional teams to accelerate operational excellence through loss elimination, capability building, digital transformation, and a continuous improvement culture.
The role is accountable for improving factory performance across productivity, quality, reliability, cost efficiency, waste reduction, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), while embedding data-driven decision making and sustainable operational excellence practices throughout the organization.
Main Responsibilities
UMS Deployment & Governance
Lead the governance, deployment, and sustainability of Unilever Manufacturing System (UMS) across the factory.
Ensure alignment of pillar roadmaps, maturity progression plans, and performance deliverables with factory business objectives.
Facilitate UMS assessments, identify improvement opportunities, resolve implementation roadblocks, and drive sustainable results through effective change management.
Partner with Site Leadership Team and BU ManEx Lead to monitor and accelerate UMS maturity and business impact.
Continuous Improvement & Loss Management
Drive site-wide continuous improvement initiatives through structured problem solving, Kaizen, and operational excellence methodologies.
Lead loss identification, prioritization, and elimination activities by leveraging data analytics and root cause analysis techniques.
Expand Zero Loss mindset and loss management framework across manufacturing and supporting functions.
Promote best practice sharing and replication of successful improvement initiatives across the organization.
Productivity & Cost Deployment
Lead Cost Deployment activities and partner with Finance and Operations teams to establish robust cost governance processes.
Manage the factory productivity pipeline and ensure realization of targeted savings through focused improvement initiatives, transformation projects, and Kaizen activities.
Consolidate and track factory productivity, waste reduction, and cost-saving projects to ensure sustainable business benefits.
Support development of productivity roadmaps and factory master plans aligned with business priorities.
Capability Building & Culture Transformation
Develop and sustain a culture of continuous improvement through training, coaching, mentoring, and capability-building programs.
Build organizational capabilities in structured problem solving, root cause analysis, TPM, Lean methodologies, and continuous improvement tools.
Coach leaders and teams to embed operational excellence principles into daily management systems and decision-making processes.
Drive employee engagement and ownership in continuous improvement initiatives across all organizational levels.
Digital & Data Analytics
Champion digital manufacturing and 0 initiatives to improve operational effectiveness and decision-making.
Leverage data analytics, statistical tools, and digital platforms to identify improvement opportunities and monitor factory performance.
Drive continuous enhancement of reporting systems, performance dashboards, visualization tools, and operational data quality.
Support factory digital transformation programs and deployment of data-driven solutions.
Skill & Qualifications
Strong track record in Manufacturing Excellence, Operational Excellence, Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, TQM, WCM, UMS, or related continuous improvemen