We were pleased to hear that Sameer Sekhri, OH 2009-19 has recently joined the Unilever Future Leaders Program. This amazing opportunity has occurred after Sameer completed his BEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester. He will then be graduating in June of next year (2025) with his MSc in Advanced Chemical Engineering with Biotechnology from Imperial College London.

While on the programme, Sameer will have the opportunity to undertake a career development programme relating to the supply chain scheme. This scheme is mostly comprised of chemical/mechanical engineering graduates, but also some business management and chemistry graduates.

Across all the UFLP schemes, they have roles for any university degree. He has met other graduates who studied English Literature, Sports Science, Economics and Computer Science. He has found that what matters is that you can demonstrate a really strong work

I was thrilled to be offered a role as a UFLP.  I’ve had my eye on this job since I was in my second year of university. ethic, the ability to lead a team well, and that you care strongly about sustainability. I remember being very sad when I was rejected by Unilever for a year-in-industry, so I was hugely excited when three years later they offered me a graduate job.

Over the next two years I will do four different roles within the company, each lasting 6 months, then in my third year I do a single year-long placement, before finally moving into a permanent role after that.  The roles are related to planning, producing and distributing our products, while working closely with our customers.

My first role is in personal care planning, so I am working on our Sure, Dove and Lynx products, forecasting how much of each product we expect to receive orders for each week and scheduling their productions/transport.  This first role is based in Kingston in South London, however over the next few years I will have the opportunity to work in places such as Liverpool, Leeds, Cardiff and potentially do a placement in Europe.

What I really like about this program is how much I communicate with people all over the world.  It really broadens your understanding of different work cultures and people.  A common thing about all Unilever employees is everyone loves to travel.

The aim of this program is to make university graduates experience multiple roles across the business and drive us to “over-perform” in each role, so that we’re in a better position to move into leadership/management roles sooner.  Several ex-UFLPs have moved into leadership roles relatively quickly after finishing the scheme, so fingers crossed.

There’s lots of other benefits to working at Unilever.  We have a staff shop with heavily discounted products, such as shower gels, deodorants and cooking ingredients.  A good place to buy all your Christmas presents.  There’s also unlimited free Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s in the office.

Overall, I am very excited to see what roles I will take part in over the next three years and I plan on making the most out of the great support network the company offers, so that I can emerge from the scheme into a great leadership position.

Good luck, Sameer!