Human Rights Manager

Reports to: Senior Sustainability Manager Human Rights

Unilever is a global FMCG business committed to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our day. Sustainability has long been part of Unilever’s core approach to doing business. We have always evolved our sustainability agenda to keep it leading and relevant. As we look to the future, we believe we have an opportunity to evolve for sustainable business leadership.

Our sustainability strategy focuses on four issues: climate, nature, plastics and livelihoods, underpinned by human rights. Those core topics were chosen as they are those that are most material to our business and where we can make the biggest impact.

Respecting human rights and improving livelihoods are central to this ambition and are two of Unilever’s key sustainability priority areas. Unilever has a clear role to play in building a more equitable and inclusive society through its operations, supply chain and brands.

The Sustainability Function is responsible for setting the strategy, delivering the global advocacy, implementing the local policy engagement plans, managing the content for issues relates to the four topics and leading on the governance and accountability to ensure delivery of our sustainability goals.

Job Purpose

In 2011, Unilever publicly endorsed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Since then, we’ve continued to develop our approach to addressing potential and actual impacts in line with the maturing business and human rights landscape.

Our human rights strategy is grounded in the principles of effective human rights due diligence, with clear governance processes for delivery of our strategy.

This role supports the team in setting the direction of Unilever’s human rights strategy, covering all aspects of human rights due diligence. It combines strategy, governance, and external leadership, positioning Unilever as both a compliant business and an industry leader.

Responsibilities

Strategy and governance

• Support development of Unilever’s human rights strategy, aligning it with business goals.
• Lead the review and management of Unilever’s salient human rights issues.
• Oversee governance of key human rights issues, working with functions across the business (procurement, HR, business integrity) to implement Unilever’s salient issue frameworks.
• Drive the integration of respect for human rights into business operations, supply chains, and brands to build resilience and enable inclusive growth.
• Support engagements with the Board, Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) and other senior business leaders, including through regular briefings to leadership on emerging human rights issues.
• Represent Unilever at industry forums and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders.
• Produce high-quality briefings and presentation materials for senior executives and drive decision-making and support key advocacy moments such as Davos, UNGA and selected industry conferences and events.
• Support development of Unilever’s Just Transition workstreams.

Human rights due diligence

• Be a go-to lead on human rights, providing advice on risk and due diligence across the business.
• Lead key projects and programmes as part of Unilever’s approach to human rights due diligence, including country-focused human rights impact assessments.
• Identify emerging trends, risks and opportunities to help the business anticipate and respond effectively.
• Lead Unilever’s internal communication strategy for human rights – working to build understanding of respect for human rights across the business.
• Support Unilever’s approach to human rights reporting, working cross-functionally to consolidate quantitative and qualitative data to meet reporting requirements.