Media & Marketing Procurement Manager – Global Market Research

Earlier this year, Unilever announced an agreement to combine its Foods business with McCormick & Company, creating a scaled global flavour powerhouse. The proposed combination would bring together iconic Foods brands, including Hellmann’s and Knorr, with McCormick’s portfolio to create a global leader across spices, seasonings, condiments and complementary food categories, supported by strong retail and foodservice platforms. McCormick brings more than 135 years of heritage, a presence in 150+ countries and territories, and a portfolio of trusted brands. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, with completion estimated for mid-2027.

Job Title Media & Marketing Procurement Manager – Global Market Research

Function Procurement

Reports to Media & Marketing Procurement Director

Scope Global

Country Location and Worksite Details Poland Katowickie Centrum Biznesu

JOB PURPOSE

This role exists to lead the global Market Research procurement portfolio, managing approximately €100+ million in spend and translating consumer, brand, innovation and business-insight needs into future-fit category strategies, operating models and supplier roadmaps. The role develops global strategies across quantitative and qualitative research, panels, communities, social intelligence, analytics, brand and communication testing, innovation research and specialist insight services. Working with Consumer and Market Insights, Marketing, R&D, Data and Analytics, Legal, Privacy, Finance and business teams, the role enables value, insight quality, digital research adoption, supplier innovation, compliance and trusted decision support globally.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the Global Market Research procurement portfolio, influencing cross-functional stakeholders and supplier teams to translate consumer, brand, innovation and business-insight priorities into sourcing, operating-model and supplier plans, responsible for approximately €100+ million managed spend.

• Develop global strategies across quantitative and qualitative research, panels, communities, social intelligence, analytics, brand and communication testing, innovation research and specialist insight services.

• Lead complex global sourcing, negotiation and contracting, establishing transparent commercial models, rate cards, research standards, service levels, intellectual-property provisions and data-protection controls.

• Build a balanced ecosystem of global, regional and specialist research partners and manage supplier performance across insight quality, speed, methodology, cost, innovation, inclusion, compliance and stakeholder experience.

• Partner with Consumer and Market Insights, Marketing, R&D, Data and Analytics, Legal, Privacy, Finance and business teams to align research procurement with decision and innovation priorities.

• Build a multi-year value pipeline through demand and specification management, preferred methods and suppliers, rate optimisation, study aggregation, platform adoption, automation and supplier innovation.

• Ensure research sourcing complies with privacy, consent, ethical research, information security, responsible sourcing and applicable market-research standards while maintaining portfolio data, contracts, KPIs and reporting.

• REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• University degree in Procurement, Business, Marketing, Market Research, Data, Finance or a related discipline, with 5+ years of relevant procurement, market-research, insights, analytics or professional-services experience.

• Strong understanding of research methods, supplier markets, panel and data economics, digital research platforms and emerging insight technologies.

• Strong global sourcing, negotiation, contracting, supplier-development, commercial and analytical capability.

• Working knowledge of privacy, consent, research ethics, intellectual property, information security and data-quality requirements.

• Demonstrated success leading global market-research procurement strategies and programmes across multiple markets, with experience operating at comparable spend and organisational scale.

• Strong influencing, project-management and communication skills across global and virtual teams, with fluent written and spoken English.

• Enterprise leadership mindset, with the ability to set clear priorities, lead through ambiguity and market-research industry change, balance strategic thinking with execution, build trusted senior stakeholder relationships and contribute to procurement capability development.

• PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Exposure to digital, agile, syndicated or AI-enabled research and insight models.

• Experience supporting platform adoption, automation or technology-enabled market-research transformation.

• Experience building supplier ecosystems that combine global scale partners with specialist research capabilities.

• We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive/succeed. All applicants will receive fair and respectful consideration, and we actively support the growth and development of every employee.

• We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment journey. Should you require additional information or reasonable adjustments to allow you to present your best self during this process, please contact your Talent Partner.

• Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.