Associate Director, Asset Creation -North America

JOB PURPOSE

ABOUT PROCUREMENT

Our Procurement Lighthouse Strategy focusses on multiple pillars of competitive buying, partnerships, superior availability, sustainability and value chain interventions under-pinned on the key enablers of People, Digital & Culture.

Part of the Supply Chain family, Procurement is responsible for over 30B Euro of material and services spend globally with more than 60,000 suppliers, over half of them in MBS. Getting the right services and materials, sustainably sourced and ensuring responsible procurement is critical to ensuring our brands with purpose grow.

ABOUT MARKETING PROCUREMENT

The Marketing Spend is around €6 Bn across Creative Agencies, Digital & D-Com, Ad Production, Field Force, POSM/Premiums etc. Asset Creation is a portfolio of > €1 Bn globally. Unilever’s Marketing Procurement team is responsible for sourcing and supplier strategy and execution for all third-party spend across Marketing services.

This role provides an exciting opportunity to be at the nexus of driving brand equity and sales growth for a priority region, North America (NA), and critical business unit, Beauty & Wellbeing. In partnership with our marketing colleagues and key strategic partners, this leader will enable leading edge marketing strategy and business results.  Because here, we don’t just hire for jobs. We invite you to be part of something bigger.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

For NA Asset Creation:

• Lead sourcing team for creative development, production, and adaptation across NA brands, ensuring quality and speed-to-market.

• Negotiate and manage MSAs and SOWs with creative agencies, production houses, and adaptation partners, ensuring compliance and efficiency.

• Ensure the global strategy for Asset Creation is executed in North America, incorporating regional nuances and ensuring NA agenda is also considered.

• Deliver savings and reinvestment opportunities while maintaining creative excellence and operational agility.

• Partner with Marketing, Finance, Legal, and Digital teams to enable seamless campaign execution and governance.

• Uphold procurement standards, manage IR35 and tax compliance risks in freelance engagements, and ensure transparency.

For Beauty and Wellbeing (BW):

• Translate BW business needs into procurement strategies in line with marketing procurement strategy across the marketing value chain, ensuring alignment with BG priorities and global frameworks.

• Drive end-to-end portfolio performance (Creative, Media, Production, Influencer, PR, Promo and Commerce) to deliver savings, efficiency, and reinvestment opportunities.

• Act as the voice of BW in global negotiations, ensuring brand-specific requirements are represented while balancing “Power of One” efficiencies.

• Shape future-fit supplier models and ecosystems for social-first marketing in line with BW marketing transformation.

• Ensure portfolio fundamentals (data consistency, contract governance, performance dashboards) to enable rapid decision-making.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 9+ years in procurement with deep expertise in Marketing Services.

• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.

• Knowledge of supply markets, FMCG, and marketing value chains.

• Proven leadership in large-scale projects and change management.

• Passion for sustainability and continuous improvement.

• High financial acumen, communication, and project management skills.

• Ability to work under pressure in a complex global environment.

• Comfortable working in conditions of ambiguity and leading through change.

• Ability to interact with senior stakeholders cross-functionally to deliver balanced solutions.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including effective presentations.

General Skills & Competencies

• Inspiring, motivational, and accountable people leader, able to lead remote and cross-cultural teams and connect people and ideas.

• Comfortable working in conditions of ambiguity and leading through change.

• Able to create and drive adoption and execution of a shared vision and strategy for change.

• Ability to interact with senior stakeholders effectively and efficiently to understand their needs and deliver impactful, balanced solutions.

• Delivers change whilst understanding the interface between “day to day” and improvement projects.

• Passion for continuous improvement

• Strong financial and business acumen

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including creation and delivery of effective presentations.

• Skillful in selling ideas and concepts; especially influencing business stakeholders on change management.

• Strong in project and time management for complex global projects

• Passion and practical creativity

• Tenacious and resilient in the pursuit of challenging goals

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At Unilever, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive/succeed. All applicants will receive fair and respectful consideration, and we actively support the growth and development of every employee.

Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Persons with Disabilities.

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