Programme Operations Administrator
| Posting date: | 10 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £32,800 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 10 October 2025 |
| Location: | Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 1LQ |
| Company: | Manpower UK Limited |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | BBBH422549_1757517296 |
Summary
Manpower is currently seeking a Programme & Operations Administrator (Maternity Cover) to work with our global FMCG client, Unilever, renowned for brands such as Ben & Jerry's, Knorr, Walls & Marmite, and become an integral part of their fast-paced FMCG environment.
The position is based at our client's Research & Development facility, at Colworth Science Park, in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire (MK44), accessible by car. It also houses our client's global centre of excellence in safety and sustainability sciences.
This is full-time temporary role, to run for 12 months requiring 37.50 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Compensation for this role is competitive, paying up to £32,800 per annum, pro rata, depending upon experience.
The role currently offers a mix of remote and onsite working, subject to adjustment based on business requirements.
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, Tresemme, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Marmite, Graze and Pot Noodle.
About SERS
We want consumers to be confident that our products are safe for them and their families, and better for the environment. The scientists in Unilever's Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Science (SERS) group play a key role in ensuring that our products are safe, and our business is environmentally sustainable. SERS's world-class reputation for safety and sustainability science plays a key role in Unilever achieving its purpose, by working across the business to build safety and environmental sustainability into everything we do.
About the Role
Working across SERS, the Partnership and Operations Team manages the contracting and outsourcing of work to external partners to generate data for risk and impact assessments and regulatory compliance requirements, as well as supporting the delivery of our Safety, Digital and Environmental Sustainability capability build programmes. The team ensures the smooth delivery of the SERS Operating Model ensuring governance and required quality standards are met through rigorous assessment and evaluation of external partners, as well as proportionate and thorough contracts. The team is responsible for managing the delivery of agreed activities in the context of SERS Work Programme & Budget, working in partnership with programme and project leaders and BG directors.
Responsibilities of the Role
Include but are not limited to:
- Providing comprehensive and professional operational support for SERS, including the Leadership Team
- Co-ordinating meetings, workshops and external visitors to SERS, this includes interacting with both internal and external people to understand and meet requirements.
- Co-ordinating overseas travel for SERS staff through liaison with individuals to determine needs, maintaining relevant tools.
- Completing Schedules of Work to enable working with external partners and raising requisitions in Unilever procurement systems to reflect agreed milestones, monitoring delivery and receipting accordingly
- Keeping Unilever and SERS systems up to date to ensure governance requirements are met
- Drafting Confidentiality Agreements and liaising with 3rd parties and legal to facilitate completion of agreements (training will be provided)
- Supporting with day-to-day budget management
- Be a point of contact for SES website, including updating of events and resources to support SERS activity externally.
About you
We are looking for people with the right attitude, mindset and competencies. You'll need to be able to prioritise your workload, 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:
- GCSE English & Maths at Grade C or above (or equivalent)
- Experience of working in a dynamic, reactive and flexible administrative team, proficient with MS Office packages
- Strong and effective team working, influencing and communication skills
Excellent organisational and relationship building skills and a keen eye for detail - Creativity and problem solving
- Focus, Drive and Proactivity
- Ability to prioritise workloads
The following skills would be an added bonus but are not essential:
- Experience of financial and budgeting processes
- Knowledge and understanding of legal agreements
Colworth Science Park working environment:
- 9 miles from Bedford
- 18 miles from M1
- Modern working environment in a beautiful, listed building
- Large green outdoor spaces
- Shuttle bus is provided from Bedfordshire area to Site.