The first decision you need to make is where your passion lies. Every year at our Head Office in Switzerland, we hire exceptional graduates onto international development programmes based in different areas of our business. The emphasis is on the word “exceptional”.
The opportunity
More than one third of our Executive Board Members started their career in Nestlé as graduates. By starting your life at Nestlé in these programmes you can be one of the future leaders of our business.
The challenge
Whichever area holds your interest, you’ll need to show us that you share our values and have your own distinctive strengths. Nestlé graduates stand out through their drive, passion and intelligence – and that’s a standard you must meet. You’ll need to combine also academic success with strong language skills and relevant internship or professional experience.
Find out more about our international programmes and the areas you could join:
International Development Programme (IDP) - Marketing and Sales
The IDP - Marketing and Sales is a unique opportunity for you to work with great brands and like-minded colleagues enhancing people’s lives, everywhere, every day.
By being part of the IDP - Marketing and Sales you will gain a diverse international experience in the commercial function and develop your leadership capabilities at an early stage in your career. You will take on ever-increasing responsibilities in Sales and Marketing. You will be working on billionaire brands in a variety of categories, negotiating with our customers, managing your own projects and leading people in different countries and in different environments. It is your ideas that will be shaping Nestlé future.
IDP – Marketing and Sales overview
Nestlé Headquarters. Gaining global vision – 6 months.
You will join one of the strategic business units at Nestlé Headquarters to experience how Nestlé operates in the global context.
Market 1. Building your commercial acumen – 18 month. During your first assignment in one of the Nestlé markets you will go through 3 job rotations - Sales, Channel Category Sales development and Consumer Marketing. As a result you will gain experience in traditional and modern trade, find out more about the dynamics and insights of different channels and categories development and manage a particular product to deep dive into Marketing and Brand Management.
Market 2. Preparing for a permanent role – 18 months.
You will be assigned to a regular position or to a specific project with a larger scope of responsibility, like a project manager in marketing or sales. You will sharpen your commercial acumen and leadership skills through tackling cross functional tasks and projects.
Continuous learning
Onboarding and induction programs are designed to help you adapt easier in a new environment, new people and new culture. You will also pass through a number of formal trainings in Marketing and Sales, Leadership and People management in our International Training Centre and in the market you are assigned to.
It is a great program that offers you tons of possibilities both personally and professionally, but you need to have the ability and the willingness to adapt, learn fast...
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Alexandre, Brand Manager Culinary, Central Western African Region (CWAR)
Performance and talent evaluation. Exposure to senior management.
Whenever you start your assignment you will have your objectives for the next stage clearly set. Formal and informal feedback will help you to achieve the highest results. Senior managers will do their best to provide you with the opportunities to show your work, your progress and the results. As a part of the IDP your development and career will be monitored by senior sponsors at the Nestlé’s Headquarters.
Mentoring and Coaching
A mentor at senior management level will provide you with advice, guidance and support in your career development during the programme. Besides, you will have a peer coach in the market where you are assigned so that you can have a smooth adaptation to the new environment and culture.
New challenges and new roles...
After successful finishing the programme you will continue with new international assignments to different countries every three to five years. Depending on your performance, experiences and career aspirations you might be responsible for managing a brand e.g. KitKat or a sales team or being accountable for one of the retailers. And more... if you rise to the challenges set, you can accelerate to a Sales Manager, Marketing Manager or Head of a business.
Who are we looking for?
This fascinating and challenging path demands clear aspirations and a mindset for an international career. To excel in this environment you need to enjoy challenges, to be interested in leading others, embrace and promote diversity, have the ability to continuously learn within different contexts and have strong analytical and communication skills. Other essentials include a recent University degree (Master's level) ideally in Economics or Business Administration, up to two years of work experience in Sales and Marketing field, fluent English and two other languages (one of them should be a major language), and good understanding of fast-moving consumer goods industry.
Application & selection process:
Application on line: 10 January to 10 February 2013
assessment process (video interview, assessment centre, final interview) : January – May 2013
Expected start date: October 2013
Nestlé Group Audit (NGA)
As you’d expect from Nestlé, our audit service is world-class. Our Group Audit team adds value to our most senior managers both in our markets around the world and at our international headquarters. However, that is just the beginning. As you’ll discover, the graduates of our Group Audit team are highly valued around the business. It’s easy to see why.
The Nestlé Group Audit experience
As a Nestlé International Auditor, you’ll be exposed to some of the key activities and teams within the Group. You’ll gain an understanding of the operational efficiencies, the internal controls and the compliance issues in Sales and Marketing, Supply Chain, Production, Finance and more. You will help to improve our processes and facilitate the application of best practices. And you’ll do this not just in a single territory, but worldwide.
Win a place at our Nestlé Group Audit and you’ll quickly become a valued member of the team. That’s an experience in itself. Our auditors work – and often live – in close-knit teams, sharing the pressures and successes of completing audits to demanding timescales. Excel in this environment and within two years you could be leading one of these teams and taking accountability for your own audit project.
Continuous learning
Naturally, we will make sure you’re fully prepared for this responsibility. Through on-the-job coaching from your Team Leader and a structured in-class training programme that covers audit methodologies, SAP applications, negotiation techniques, project management and process reviews, you’ll grow as an audit professional. We’ll add to this with continuous performance reviews and a first-rate mentoring program and within four years you’ll be ready for your business-line position. This could be in Finance and Control, Marketing and Sales, Supply Chain or Engineering and Technical – in almost any country in the world.
The NGA offered me a unique opportunity to understand the variety of operations, cultures, customers and business models...
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Gaetan, Corporate Controller Nespresso France, NGA alumni 2011
Who are we looking for?
We clearly don’t expect you to be the finished article when you join us. However, you’ll need to combine a Masters in Business or Finance, ideally with a major in Finance or Audit, with fluent English and two additional major European languages to a high standard. As importantly, you’ll need the flexibility to travel widely and strength of character and drive to flourish in a challenging international career that is often described as a lifestyle rather than a role.
Application process
Apply online (searching for CH-International operational auditor, or job id 120002IG).
We have several recruiting periods over the year (assessment process: video interview, assessment centre with final interview)
Regular start dates : first week of January – first week of April – last week of August
Engineering
Our Engineers are among the best-trained – and most widely travelled – in the world.
The opportunity.
Join our Engineering Program and you’ll be introduced to our practices and technologies through three or four placements in Nestlé factories and specialist coaching sessions at our Switzerland headquarters and International Training Centre. After this four to six-month orientation is over, you’ll commit to your first two to three-year assignment.
Now life becomes really interesting. Your engineering assignment could be in one of our factories around the world, working in the engineering, quality assurance or manufacturing department – in anything from food processes to packaging and refrigeration. Alternatively, you could be assigned to the construction of a new factory line or extension. Or you could be based in one of our Product Technology Centres focusing on product and process development.
How your career develops depends on the expertise you gain along the way, your preferences and your professional background. As a Mechanical or Process engineer, you could become a Project Engineer constructing and commissioning new project lines, utilities or factories. If you decide to focus on a particular area or a food process, you might decide to become an Engineering Specialist. Or you could become a Factory Engineer, responsible for installation or maintenance and repair. All these options will leave you able to progress to Chief Engineer in a Nestlé Market, head up a technical specialty or become an Engineering or Factory Manager.
If you have a background in microbiology, chemistry, food technology or a similar field, you have different options. You could be trained to become a Quality Specialist, introducing the Nestlé Quality System to local markets. Or you might make your mark as a Manufacturing Specialist working with raw materials, recipes and processes, and acting as the link between the factory and R&D on product development. Again, these options open up a number of career destinations, including Factory Manager, Head of Factory Quality Assurance or Head of Manufacturing.
The challenge.
Whether your academic background is mechanical, process, or industrial and chemical engineering, don’t under-estimate the demands of an international career. Adapting quickly to different cultures isn’t always easy. All of which makes it important to combine a flexible approach with fluent English and two other languages.