Job Title: Compounder & Fragrance Oil Specification Creator
Location: Port Sunlight R&D
Work Level: WL1RH3
Want to Change The World?
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.
To achieve our ambition, Unilever Fragrance House (UFH) is undertaking a global fragrance transformation, leveraging expert inhouse fragrance teams to craft unmissably superior fragrances for our Personal Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Home Care Business Groups.
Job Purpose
This role sits within the Unilever Fragrance House team at Port Sunlight, supporting fragrance operations across UFH globally. The primary focus of the role is the operational delivery of the Raw Material (RM) clearance and specification programme, alongside hands on laboratory compounding and wider lab support activities.
You will work closely with laboratory managers, hub leads, suppliers, and cross hub operational teams to ensure fragrance raw materials and fragrance oils are accurately compounded, documented, and cleared for use. The role requires proactive working, strong attention to detail, and strict adherence to laboratory procedures and health and safety guidelines within a multi functional, multi cultural environment.
Main Accountabilities:
- The main part of this role is the operational delivery of the perfume raw material (PRM) clearance and specification programme:
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Operational ownership of the PRM clearance programme at Port Sunlight
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Deliver olfactive clearances of new supplier PRMs, supporting supply resilience and palette expansion
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Work with suppliers to source samples and assess alternative PRMs where required
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Support the RM Assistant Manager on captives and other materials as needed
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Understand fragrance and raw material specifications, including the relevance and impact of changes
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Write and maintain fragrance oil specifications for UFH, ensuring accuracy and traceability
- Laboratory compounding and support activities:
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Accurately compound fragrance oils to defined formulas
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Prepare dilutions and samples for olfactive evaluation and testing
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Provide flexible hands on support to compounding and application lab teams as required
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Ensure all laboratory work is accurately recorded
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Safely handle, label, store, and dispose of fragrance raw materials and laboratory waste
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Ensure consumables and equipment are available, clean, and fit for use
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Work closely with laboratory colleagues and hub leads to meet delivery timelines
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Communicate challenges, risks, or timing changes clearly to stakeholders
Health, safety and compliance:
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Comply with all safety and laboratory management procedures (Risk Assessment, Health & Safety, COSHH, Standard Operating Procedures)
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Maintain a clean, organised, and compliant laboratory environment at all times
All About You
The successful candidate will have the right mindset, competencies, and experience including:
- Minimum BSc in a physical science based subject (e.g. Chemistry, Analytical Sciences or similar)
- Hands on experience working in a laboratory environment with a strong awareness of safety protocol and good laboratory practice
- Experience with perfume compounds and ideally fragrance raw materials
- Passion and interest in fragrance and fragranced products
- Highly motivated, numerate, with strong attention to detail
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team, effectively prioritising and working to tight deadlines
- Proactive and quick to learn, with a willingness to take initiative
- Excellent communication skills
- Digitally literate with an openness to adopting new systems and processes
Desirable:
- Experience within an FMCG or Fragrance Industry environment
- Familiarity with Unilever systems and processes, as a minimum working knowledge with LIMS
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).
Relocation to the UK
Please be aware if you are applying for this role from outside the UK, if successful, your application will be treated as a self-initiated Change Location Outside of Country (CLOC) transfer. This means any relocation costs must be self-funded with the potential to reclaim some specific pre-approved expenses up to £5,000. Please speak to your Talent Partner if you have any questions.
