Title: Head of GBS Transformation

Function: Global Business Services (GBS)

Work Level: WL3X

Location: UK / Europe

About the Role

Unilever is on a bold transformation journey to become a company fit for the age of AI. At the heart of this ambition sits Global Business Services (GBS), an integrated, value-driven intelligence engine that delivers exceptional solutions across our global Value Streams. GBS plays a critical role in enabling Unilever’s ambition of desire at scale, empowering our people to play to win, every single day.

The GBS Change Office is the nerve centre of this transformation, where enterprise ambition, delivery discipline, and execution excellence come together to turn intent into impact. It exists to ensure that Unilever’s Intelligent GBS vision is translated into tangible outcomes across performance, value, digitisation, and ways of working.

As Head of GBS Change Office, you will set the direction and pace of transformation delivery across GBS. Reporting directly to and working in close partnership with the Chief GBS Officer, and GBS leaders, you will design, drive, and deliver the GBS transformation roadmap across functional value streams, embedding new ways of working, simplifying and standardising processes, and aligning the organisation behind clear outcomes and shared accountability.

This is a career-defining, director-level role for an accomplished transformation delivery leader with deep experience across business operations and/or Finance, Procurement, and Supply Chain. You will bring the credibility and delivery rigour required to mobilise complex organisations, align senior stakeholders, and deliver enterprise-scale transformation at pace.

Key Responsibilities

GBS Transformation Delivery & Orchestration

• Own and orchestrate a complex, multi-year portfolio of concurrent GBS transformation programmes, ensuring clear prioritisation, sequencing, and alignment across functional value streams and enterprise initiatives.
• Maintain a high-level, enterprise-wide view of delivery, actively managing interdependencies, critical path risks, and sequencing across GBS, GDT, and adjacent transformation programmes.
• Translate the Chief GBS Officer’s ambition and enterprise direction into a coherent, integrated portfolio of initiatives, balancing pace, capacity, and value across multiple workstreams.
• Ensure transformation initiatives are tightly integrated across GBS, GDT, and functional partners, avoiding fragmentation, optimising sequencing, and maximising end-to-end enterprise value.
• Maintain a relentless focus on outcomes and realised impact, including efficiency, user experience, scalability, and sustained value delivery.

Value Stream & Process Enablement

• Partner closely with Value Stream leaders and global process owners to enable disciplined execution of value-stream-led transformation across Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing and other enterprise operations.
• Support the shift from activity-based delivery to outcome, performance, and value-stream-oriented execution.

Programme Management & Governance

• Lead the GBS transformation delivery, dependencies, risks, and progress.
• Establish and run robust programme governance, milestones, cadence, and performance tracking aligned to Unilever standards.
• Track benefits delivery and operational performance improvements with transparency and pace, enabling informed executive decision-making.

Executive & Enterprise Engagement

• Act as a trusted delivery partner to the Chief GBS Officer, providing insight, challenge, and clear line of sight across the transformation portfolio.
• Build strong executive relationships across GBS, GDT, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, HR, and Digital leadership.
• Lead senior forums and executive updates, translating complex delivery information into clear, decision-oriented narratives.

Digitisation Enablement

• Partner with GDT to ensure digital, automation, and platform initiatives are effectively sequenced and embedded into value streams.
• Enable business readiness and adoption of new tools and capabilities through disciplined delivery planning.

Leadership & Capability Building

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing GBS Change Office team with strong programme management and delivery capabilities.
• Embed consistent delivery disciplines, ways of working, and performance expectations across the GBS transformation community.

About You

Experience & Qualifications

• Extensive experience (typically 10+ years) leading large-scale, complex transformation or enterprise delivery programmes within global organisations.
• Strong background in business operations and/or Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, or shared services environments.
• Proven track record of delivering multi-year transformation portfolios with measurable efficiency, service, and value outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience working closely with senior executives in highly matrixed, global organisations.
• Strong grounding in programme governance, operational execution, and performance management.

Skills & Capabilities

• Exceptional programme and portfolio delivery leadership, with strong governance, milestone management, and execution discipline.
• Executive presence with the ability to influence, challenge, and align senior stakeholders.
• Highly effective executive communicator, both verbal and written, able to craft and deliver coherent, impactful narratives
• Strong commercial, financial, and operational acumen, linking delivery to business performance.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, manage complexity, and drive momentum across regions and functions.

Leadership Behaviours (Unilever)

• Stay Three Steps Ahead: Anticipates delivery risks and dependencies; connects ambition to execution.
• Care Deeply: Builds trust, brings people with you, and leads with empathy.
• Deliver with Excellence: Sets a high bar for outcomes, pace, and accountability.
• Focus on What Counts: Keeps the organisation centred on value, impact, and enterprise priorities.

Why This Role Matters

This role sits at the heart of Unilever’s GBS evolution. It offers the opportunity to shape how value streams operate, how digitisation is embedded, and how GBS delivers impact at scale. The Head of GBS Change Office will be a defining force in turning Unilever’s Intelligent GBS ambition into sustained enterprise value.