Paediatric Research Manager

Eighteen adult centres. Eleven paediatric locations. One innovative Experimental Cancer Medicine network. 

Paediatric Research Manager

£37,000- £41,000 (+ Benefits)

Reports to: Network Lead

Department: Research & Innovation

Contract: 11 month fixed-term contract

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office).

*This role will involve international travel c.1-2 times per annum, as well as, occasional travel across the UK.

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship. 

Closing date: 13 March 2025 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible.

Recruitment process: One competency-based interview

Interview date: From the week commencing 24 March 2025

How do I apply? We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you.

Cancer Research UK's understanding of cancer is advancing more rapidly than ever before, leading to increased survival rates thanks to our efforts. The Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) Network comprises 17 adult centres and 12 paediatric locations across the UK, jointly funded by Cancer Research UK and our ECMC Partners. Our collaborative mission is to conduct early phase trials and translational research, leveraging our centres' unique, world-leading expertise in early phase clinical research to develop innovative cancer treatments. This role will be part of Cancer Research UK's Programme Office responsible for coordinating and supporting the ECMC Network.

As a Paediatric Research Manager, you will play an essential role in facilitating and delivering the ECMC paediatric network’s strategy, bringing together clinicians and translational scientists to deliver early phase clinical trials for children and young people with cancer. Your purpose will be to project manage activities across the network's paediatric initiatives, ensuring robust governance and fostering collaboration to achieve our objectives of improving and expanding life-saving treatment options for paediatric patients. This will involve building relationships and partnering with our paediatric oncology leads and various external stakeholders (e.g., the paediatric oncology community, ECMC funders, industry partners, and other relevant organisations). You will also represent the ECMC at national and international conferences to promote the UK, and particularly the ECMC network, as a premier location for paediatric early phase trials.

This is an impactful opportunity for an individual interested in early phase trials and paediatric oncology to shape a role that combines project management, strategy implementation, and partnering with senior stakeholders and industry experts.

If you are a Project or Research Manager with experience managing projects in clinical research or academic environments who possess strong stakeholder management and engagement skills, we’d love for you to join our mission.

What will I be doing?

Project Management:

• Providing project management support to paediatric activities across the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) network.

• Supporting the delivery of paediatric projects, such as the ECMC Children and Young People’s Data Platform used by clinicians and researchers.

• Monitoring project milestones, risks, and dependencies, ensuring alignment with ECMC’s strategic objectives.

• Maintaining a robust governance framework to support the effective oversight and delivery of the paediatric network’s strategy.

  • This will involve regularly attending, organising, and delivering Paediatric Leadership Forum meetings and the Paediatric Strategy Group (including secretariat duties, agenda creation and taking minutes).

• Supporting wider ECMC network and Programme Office activities to enable pan-age approaches across all our research (including paediatric, teenagers, young adults, and adult patients).

Stakeholder Management:

• Building strong, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels (including senior leadership) within the ECMC paediatric network to enable delivery and monitoring of network objectives.

  • This will involve partnering with clinicians, researchers, academics, research funders, industry partners, and international organisations.

• Organising ECMC site visits to foster closer links to paediatric ECMC locations.

• Identifying and understanding stakeholder priorities and supporting the Paediatric Impact & Engagement Manager to develop appropriate impact communications.

• Providing stewardship for patient and public involvement representatives within the ECMC projects (e.g., Children and Young People’s Data Platform Project).

Business Development and Industry Engagement:

• Representing ECMC at international conferences, showcasing the network’s capabilities and fostering partnerships.

  • This will involve travelling c.1-2 times per year.

• Engaging with other national and international infrastructure to promote collaborative working on commercial opportunities within paediatric oncology.

• Supporting the Industry Engagement to collaborate with partners and create early phase clinical trial opportunities for the ECMC paediatric network.

What skills will I need?

• Project or Research Manager with experience managing projects with overlapping priorities within clinical research or academic environments (e.g., universities, consulting, etc).

• Experience managing, influencing, and communicating with internal and external stakeholders at all levels (including senior leadership). This includes:

  • A proven ability to act diplomatically and build consensus.

  • An ability to explain oncology, research, and clinical trial concepts to clinical and non-clinical stakeholders while recognising the needs and priorities of the audience.

• Ability to adhere to, and advocate, governance and compliance frameworks within a project setting and decision-making.

• Demonstrable ability to translate strategic objectives into implementation plans and inform decision making.

• Strong organisational, prioritisation, and planning skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

• Good networking skills with the ability to represent the ECMC at national and international forums and events.

• A proactive and solutions-oriented approach to overcoming challenges and problem solving.

• Ideally has some understanding of early-phase clinical trials and clinical infrastructure in the UK (this is desirable but not essential, meaning we welcome applicants without this experience).

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination  

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism   

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people  

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

Additional Information

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].  

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. 

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner. 

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen by emailing us at [email protected]. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.