AI Business Analyst, Digital R&D

JOB TITLE: AI Business Analyst, Digital R&D

JOB FUNCTION: AI Business Analyst for R&D Knowledge Integration project

REPORTS TO: Knowledge Integration Leader

SCOPE: Global – as member of R&D Digital & Partnerships

WORK LOCATION: Unilever R&D Bangalore

About Unilever

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

CATEGORY OR FUNCTION INTRODUCTION

R&D Digital & Partnerships provides R&D with the digital capabilities required to efficiently drive impactful product innovations.

With our Brilliant Basics program we manage digital platforms that are used across all business groups to design and develop products that delight our consumers. Our Connected Data Program provides R&D with Datalab and the best in silico methods in the industry. These platforms feed and produce high quality data, ensured through fitting governance processes.

In 2023 we complemented our digital agenda with the Knowledge Integration program that envisions the creation of capabilities for everyone in R&D to better discover and exploit knowledge that was previously locked up in unstructured data sources. The advent of ChatGPT and GenAI allowed us to accelerate our program and this has culminated in the delivery of the R&D Assistant application that is now generally accessible to our 5000 R&D workers. Researchers, scientists and product developers can now use chat to get insights from over a century of Unilever R&D reports, electronic laboratory notebooks and a diverse range of other R&D knowledge bases. Our program strategy is delivering a platform that is modular and flexible, and capable to meet current and future AI applications needs.

Our vision for 2025 and 2026 is to expand Knowledge Integration and AI applications to serve the entire R&D community with best in class knowledge exploitation capabilities, across the broadest scope of data possible, and fully integrated with the established IT platforms that provide R&D with its digital foundation.

To support scaling up and realizing our ambitious vision we are looking for someone to partner with end users across business groups and functions, to understand and capture their requirements and ensure their delivery by closely partnering with our IT team. Joining us you have the opportunity to contribute and influence how Unilever R&D transforms into an AI and data-driven organization.

Job Purpose

Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do – creating a better business and a better world.

If you are inspired by the disruptive effect AI can have on our world, but even more by the opportunity to apply it in Unilever R&D to brighten everyday life for all, and if you are energized to partner with stakeholders across the R&D community to identify and deliver solutions they need, then this role is just for you!

Job Responsibilities

You will be responsible for coordinating with stakeholders and champion users, to understand their needs, expectations and possible contributions. You will be able to help steer the development of AI capabilities across the Knowledge Integration platform meeting these business needs.

Engage and coordinate with stakeholders to understand their requirements – so scaling out KI, RnDA and AI aligns 1-on-1 with business needs and priorities

• Build a network of key contacts and stakeholders across R&D business groups and functions
• Identify and document their business requirements
• Map out the details of the specific data scope they are interested in
• Map out how data and features deliver expected use cases
  
  

Document business requirements in sprint backlog – so our program remains flexible in balancing priorities while ensuring focus

• Translate stakeholder/ user inputs in feature descriptions, so our IT team can flexibly plan and execute development
• Support with feature prioritization – balancing feasibility while ensuring stakeholders satisfaction
  
  

Work with our IT organization to oversee functional and technical solutions meet user requirements – so IT work is delivered efficiently and effectively

• Where necessary facilitate interaction between internal customers and IT
• Test deliverables and support UAT with data owners and digital champions
• Propose success stories demonstrating how functional capabilities deliver business value
  
  

Facilitate review of R&D submissions in the 1 Unilever AI Inventory – so we optimize the reuse of central resources while supporting diverse demand

• Track new entries, verify completeness and ensure clarity for approval and delegation
• Facilitate bi-weekly review sessions
• Report general status and streamline process
  
  

Recommend smart usage of AI strategies based on tech news and innovative external tools – so we understand what cutting edge means, and steal with pride for our own work

• Monitor public announcements, news, opinion makers
• Determine how we could apply concepts and ideas to support Unilever R&D
• Share and facilitate discussion with other team members
• Promote our user community’s understanding of the potential of emerging AI technologies
  
  

As Knowledge Integration expands and accelerates, and as the development of GenAI evolves very rapidly, you will be able and expected to choose extra responsibilities – similarly to how we constantly adapt our roadmap to changing circumstances.

Experiences And Qualifications

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Essential Experience

Working with stakeholders across diverse functions and locations, change management, requirements analysis, digital capability development.

Experience with GenAI tools, concepts and applications – professionally or privately.

Desirable Experience

Agile delivery, knowledge management

Educational Qualification

Key Skills

KEY SKILLS and BEHAVIOURS REQUIRED

Business partnering, requirements capture, analytical thinking, business analysis, data governance, digital awareness, team building, user research

Key Behaviours

• Care Deeply about exploiting the use of the emerging AI technologies to enhance business outcomes
• Stay 3 Steps ahead of business needs to ensure we are meeting priority needs as quickly as possible
• Deliver with Excellence the future-proofed solutions
• Focus on What Counts to maximize impact of AI delivery through Knowledge Integration to drive business efficiency and growth
  
  

LEADERSHIP

• You are energized by delivering fantastic results. You are an example to others – both your results and your resilience. You are constantly on the lookout for better ways to do things, engaging and collaborating with others along the way.
• As an individual you are the one responsible for your own wellbeing and delivering high standards of work. You must also focus on the Consumer and what they need. You are humble and have your head up, looking around to interpret evidence and data smartly, spot issues and opportunities to make things better.
  
  

Critical SOL (Standards Of Leadership) Behaviors

• PERSONAL MASTERY: Sets high standards for themselves. Has emotional intelligence to take feedback, manage mood and motivations, and build empathy for others.
• PASSION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE: Generates intensity and focus to motivate people to deliver results at speed. Takes personal responsibility and accountability for execution and results.
• TALENT CATALYST: Invests in people – coaches individuals and teams to realize their full potential. Creates an inclusive climate, empowering everyone to be at their best.
• PURPOSE & SERVICE: Has humility, understanding that leadership is service to others, inside and outside Unilever.
• CONSUMER LOVE: Invests time inside and outside to understand the needs of consumers.
• BUSINESS ACUMEN: Creates sustainable growth with purpose, engaging different partners across the system for change.
  
  

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! 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.