Job Description

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Scientist
Location: Colworth, Sharnbrook, UK– hybrid
Unilever is seeking an LCA scientist who has a passion for environmental sustainability to join a team of experts in our Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Science (SERS). This is an exciting opportunity for anyone wishing to use their scientific expertise to make a significant positive impact, whilst working in a supportive, team-based environment. This pivotal role will enable you to work on tackling some of the key global environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change, packaging waste and biodiversity loss. This is a science role. It is not an environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) or Corporate social responsibility (CSR) role.
JOB PURPOSE
As an LCA scientist in Unilever, you will work with colleagues from across the globe to provide scientific support to our business groups (Foods, Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care). You will apply life cycle thinking and related approaches to better understand the environmental impacts and improvement opportunities related to product portfolios, supply chains and innovations.
You will have the opportunity to engage in collaborative research with leading universities, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and industrial groups around the world. Through partnerships, you will be able to help advance life cycle assessment and related approaches. Publication and presentation of research at international conferences will be encouraged, as well as other opportunities for technical advocacy.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Environmental sustainability assessment (e.g. LCA, Sustainable by design) of products, new materials, technologies, and business models. This includes performing LCAs using software (e.g. SimaPro, GaBi, and Brightway), interpreting the results and preparing communications for internal and external audiences.
• Application of computational approaches such as Python, R, MATLAB to enable cutting-edge approaches to be applied in LCA.
• Development of new scientific approaches: deliver new scientific methods related to life cycle assessment (e.g. in the areas of spatial and prospective impact assessment), including writing reports and publications.
• External engagement with universities, research groups, trade associations and suppliers.
ALL ABOUT YOU
You’ll need to be able to work effectively and with impact in cross-disciplinary teams and in multi-cultural environments and be flexible and willing to adapt within a fast-changing business environment.
We would expect the successful candidate to have:
• A relevant Masters degree or PhD, ideally with several years of industrial/ consulting/ post-doctoral experience using LCA.
• Strong knowledge and experience in LCA modelling, using both software and coding.
• Strong experience in the development and application of Life Cycle Impact Assessment and/or footprinting methodologies and associated standards, protocols, and databases.
• Ability to communicate complex scientific information and rationales on environmental sustainability to individuals from other disciplines or from non-technical backgrounds as well as via publications.
• Ability to employ a strategic and growth mindset. Proven track record of leading / working as part of a team. Willingness to explore and learn new approaches and to support others in doing so.
If you have the following skills, that’s a bonus but not essential:
• Broader sustainability expertise in any of the following areas: bio-based systems, agriculture, green chemistry, circular economy, industrial ecology.
• Experience of employing approaches to assess variability and uncertainty in impact assessments.
• Prospective modelling ideally with a focus on ex-ante LCA and/or wider sustainable consumption scenarios.
• Experience of developing/employing data, methods and tools for spatially resolved impact assessment e.g. GIS, InVEST, Land Change Modelling.
• Experience of using Input/Output (I/O) or hybrid I/O analysis and related methods.