Fragrance Design Manager - Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever · Cambridge

Job Title: Fragrance Design Manager - Beauty & Wellbeing

Location: Port Sunlight R&D

Work Level: 2A

At Unilever our brands touch billions of lives every day, connecting with people where and how it matters to them. Read more about Unilever: At a glance | Unilever

Innovation and R&D at Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty, Personal and Home Care products selling in over 190 countries and used by 3.7 billion consumers every day. Unilever has more than 400 brands used in homes around the world, including Dove, Sure, TRESemmé, Sunsilk, Vaseline, Comfort, Persil and Surf. As one of the world’s largest users of fragrances, we recognise that creating exceptional fragrances is at the heart of delivering extraordinary consumer experiences and driving desire at scale.

Our experts are pushing the boundaries of science and shaping the future of innovation, by leading in cutting-edge fields such as the microbiome, biotechnology and next-generation packaging materials. Our work sits at the very heart of our strategy: using the latest science and technology and prioritising innovations we can scale to drive category growth and market development.

With a product portfolio protected by over 20,000 patents, our new technologies and ingredients are unique but are also unmatched by our competitors.

Our pioneering work takes place in our global R&D centres, which are strategically located in some of the world’s most dynamic markets, including the UK, India, and China. We also have many local R&D teams driving innovation and excellence.

Purpose of the Role At Unilever, fragrance plays a critical role in how consumers experience our Beauty & Wellbeing brands every day. As Fragrance Design Manager, you will act as a trusted fragrance partner to Brand and R&D teams across South East Asia, leading fragrance design from insight to launch.

This role combines strong brand influence, deep regional immersion, and creative fragrance leadership. You will shape winning fragrances by leveraging the global Beauty & Wellbeing creative fragrance bank, while owning and developing distinctive local fragrance jewels rooted in regional consumer insight. Given the hands on nature of fragrance design, the role requires significant in person training, coaching, and immersion alongside experienced fragrance teams during the initial phase of the role.

Key Responsibilities Brand Partnership & Influence

• Act as the fragrance thought partner for Brand and Category teams, influencing fragrance direction and briefs in line with brand ambition and consumer insight.
• Build strong, trusted relationships with Brand stakeholders through clear fragrance storytelling and evidence-based recommendations.
• Proactively shape fragrance intent early in projects and confidently challenge when needed to deliver the best consumer outcome.
• Regional Immersion & Consumer Relevance
• Develop deep, first-hand understanding of South East Asian consumers, cultural preferences, climate needs, and usage habits.
• Engage in regular market immersion activities including consumer exposure, store walks, and competitive benchmarking.
• Ensure fragrances feel authentically local while strengthening brand equity and consistency.

Fragrance Design Leadership & Partnership

• Lead fragrance design and evaluation from brief creation through selection and launch across innovation, renovation, and regulatory projects.
• Translate brand vision and consumer insights into clear, inspiring fragrance briefs for Fragrance House partners.
• Act as the regional creative authority with perfumers, guiding development through confident olfactive judgement and feedback.

Creative Bank & Local Jewels

• Actively mine and adapt assets from the global Beauty & Wellbeing creative fragrance bank to meet regional needs.
• Own and curate key local fragrance jewels that reflect regional insight and strengthen local brand differentiation.
• Feed successful local learnings and creations back into the global fragrance ecosystem where relevant.

Cross-Functional Delivery

• Partner closely with Formulation, Consumer Insights, Regulatory, Procurement, and Supply to ensure fragrances are scalable, compliant, and high quality.
• Influence decisions through clear communication, preparation, and collaboration within a fast-paced FMCG environment.

People & Capability

• Mentor and support junior fragrance colleagues, contributing to capability growth and inclusive ways of working.
• Act as a role model for collaboration, curiosity, and Unilever behaviours.

Key Experience You Will Bring

• Proven experience in fragrance design, evaluation, or development within a CPG / FMCG organisation (e.g. Beauty, Personal Care, or related categories).
• Comfortable operating in a complex FMCG environment with pace, ambiguity, and multiple stakeholders, balancing creativity with scale, speed, cost, and regulatory requirements.
• Strong olfactive capability with the confidence to articulate fragrance direction clearly.
• Experience working directly with Fragrance House partners and perfumers from a customer or in-house perspective.
• Ability to build influence, trust, and partnership with Brand teams.
• Openness and curiosity to immerse yourself in diverse markets and cultures.
• Inclusive Culture & Diversity

NOTES

Please apply via this portal as e-mail applications may not be processed and include your talent card if completed.

By applying for this vacancy, you are confirming that you have made your Line Manager aware of your application and that you are at a point in your career with Unilever where it is appropriate for you to be applying for other positions. 

Should you require additional information or reasonable adjustments to allow you to present your best self during this process, please contact your Talent Partner listed at the right hand side of this vacancy. 

What we offer

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (unilever.com).