Data Analyst Review

II work within a team at Unilever called Geography Information Technology (Geo IT). As a team we manage IT projects across the UK and Ireland (UK/I). These projects can include management of hardware or software rollouts, dealing with high priority IT incidents, engagement with all teams of the UK/I business regarding IT and facilitating new technology projects within them. I am the only data analyst in this team. My key responsibilities are to provide measures of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of IT projects my team facilitates. This is to ensure IT projects are being data-driven at Unilever; we do not want to assume any given IT project is worthwhile. We need to analyse and visualise relevant data so that key stakeholders know IT projects are worth investing more time/money into, or if it would be better to cut investment.

I learnt how to use a variety of new technologies including Power BI, Microsoft Azure and Databricks SQL. I developed my existing knowledge in Excel and Python. My abilities in Python have really been stretched, as I was exposed to machine learning using NLP, and I built my first AI model during my apprenticeship.

I really enjoyed the programme because it was excellent for my development - I entered the programme expecting to develop my skills in data so I could get a job in the field of data, and I can confidently say that this apprenticeship met my expectations. On top of this, Unilever is a great company to work for!

I feel this was the weakest aspect of the programme. The main problem was that Unilever was expecting 20% off the job time per week and no more, but Multiverse would run study weeks where I would spend 12 hours of study in one week, far exceeding the 20% off the job for that week, requiring me to make up that time the following week. In fairness to Multiverse, this issue was reported to them multiple times and I believe they have altered the programme for future years to split these study weeks up.

I had constant support from my team, my line managers, and the other teams I worked with in the business, throughout my apprenticeship. Unilever has a culture which promotes supporting each other and even more senior leaders such as directors are very approachable and capable of giving great advice to accelerate development.

I've decided to rate this question as a hypothetical one because Unilever provided me with so much support that I didn't need to utilise many of Multiverse's resources for support. That being said, I am aware that Multiverse has a huge online community of support, learning content and events. I can say that my coach was very approachable and helpful, too.

I feel that the training has gone a long way in terms of deepening my understanding of data and the tools for manipulating it, as well as methods sharing and presenting data-driven insights to different stakeholders. For me the qualification acts as a stamp of my ability in the field of data.

Absolutely; all of the above. My team regularly ran social events like meals out. The company would also run large scale events twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter, which were fantastic experiences. There are also groups you can join such as Women in Tech and a thriving LGBTQ+ community. There are sports teams per-site, and sites compete against each other in sports like football.

Yes

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience working at Unilever. I feel it as a fantastic work culture which really promotes personal development and support, which was an important driving factor in getting my Distinction. Now I am choosing to stay with the company in a new role, and I expect to remain in the company for years to come.

Unilever's core value as a company is purpose. From the perspective of an applicant, at least being open to what this concept means - questioning what drives you as a person - is a must. If you have already worked out what your purpose is, and how you can use your purpose to accelerate your work and development every day, you are already in a very strong position!