Position summary

Unilever is hiring a Climate Strategy & Performance Lead into its Global Procurement Centre of Excellence to lead the global Procurement climate strategy and translate climate commitments into an integrated, measurable and business-owned transition plan. Reporting to the End-to-End Procurement Sustainability Director, the role owns climate performance management, target delivery, governance and technical coherence for the Procurement-led climate roadmap, orchestrating alignment with R&D, Supply Chain, Finance, markets and the wider sustainability organisation.

Why this role matters

Following Unilever’s announced combination of its Foods business with McCormick & Company (completion estimated mid-2027, subject to regulatory approval), this role integrates legacy Foods and McCormick baselines, methodologies and commitments into a single credible climate transition plan, and secures continuity of critical climate programmes, data and governance through the combination.

Key responsibilities

• Own climate strategy and transition planning by developing and maintaining the climate strategy, target architecture, costed decarbonisation roadmap and transition plan, including integration of legacy Foods and McCormick baselines.
• Lead performance management and gap closure by establishing the carbon budget, glidepath, forecasts and intervention portfolio, tracking performance and driving corrective action and leadership decisions.
• Govern carbon accounting and claims by setting requirements for FLAG and energy-and-industrial Scope 3 accounting, emission factors, product carbon footprints, allocation, traceability, material-flow mapping, MRV, assurance and claim substantiation.
• Embed climate into business decisions by partnering with Procurement, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance, brands and markets to integrate climate and resilience into sourcing, innovation, portfolio, capital allocation, risk management and annual planning.
• Provide governance, reporting and expert leadership by coordinating robust climate inputs for internal and external reporting, assurance and leadership forums, and interpreting evolving standards and regulatory expectations.
• Drive technical advocacy across key standards organisations, shaping climate accounting, target-setting and claims standards, and own climate-related Day 1 transition readiness.

Team and stakeholders

The role reports to the End-to-End Procurement Sustainability Director within the Global Procurement Centre of Excellence and works across Procurement, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance, brands, markets and the wider sustainability organisation, as well as external standard setters, assurance providers, suppliers, investors, customers and industry coalitions.

Key details

• Global scope; based in London (Kingston upon Thames), hybrid working in line with local policy.
• Owns climate-related Day 1 activities and operating-model alignment through the Unilever Foods and McCormick combination.

Requirements

Essential

• Significant experience in corporate climate strategy, Scope 3 decarbonisation, sustainability performance management or a closely related field, ideally in food, agriculture, FMCG or complex global supply chains.
• Strong technical knowledge of GHG accounting, SBTi-aligned target setting, FLAG and energy-and-industrial emissions, product carbon footprints, MRV and assurance.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex climate evidence into prioritised business roadmaps, investment choices, governance and executive decisions.
• Proven cross-functional leadership and influencing skills across Procurement, R&D, Finance, Supply Chain, Legal, Corporate Affairs and senior leadership.
• Excellent analytical, programme-management and communication skills, with sound judgement in ambiguous, fast-moving and commercially sensitive environments.

Preferred

• Experience with corporate integrations or major operating-model transformations.
• Knowledge of agricultural value chains, regenerative agriculture, land-sector accounting and climate resilience.
• Experience engaging external standard setters, assurance providers, suppliers, investors, customers or industry coalitions.