Health and Clinical Research Policy Manager
Key Responsibilities
- Provide expert scientific and policy analysison developments across the UK health and life sciences environment so that Blood Cancer UK can shape policy.
- Develop policy positions and propose solutionson regulatory, research and access challenges so that decision-makers can take clear action to improve outcomes for people with blood cancer.
- Horizon scan the pipeline of new and emerging blood cancer treatmentsentering late-stage trials or regulatory review so that the organisation can prioritise timely and effective influencing activity.
- Analyse barriers in the UK clinical research systemby working with clinicians and researchers so that Blood Cancer UK can advocate for improvements to trial set-up, delivery and workforce capacity.
- Build and maintain relationships with regulators and government bodiesincluding MHRA, NICE, NHS England, OLS and academic research infrastructure so that Blood Cancer UK can influence policy and regulatory reform.
- Provide scientific contribution to Health Technology Assessmentsand other regulatory processes so that submissions are robust, evidence-led and reflective of patient need.
- Assess barriers and opportunities within NHS and life sciences approval pathwaysso that the organisation can propose changes that accelerate uptake of new blood cancer medicines.
- Build and maintain a network of relationships across the health and life sciences sectorso that Blood Cancer UK can strengthen influence, gather insights and represent the blood cancer community effectively.
- Represent the charity in relevant coalitions and working groupsincluding the AMRC Clinical Research Advisory Group
- Organise and deliver events, meetings and briefingsfor parliamentarians, officials and stakeholders so that key messages are communicated clearly and opportunities for influence are created.
- Update and support internal teams and supportersby sharing insights and responding rapidly to external developments so that colleagues and volunteers can contribute effectively to influencing activity.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Knowledge
- A scientific degree or relevant equivalent experience
- Expert knowledge of the UK health and life sciences landscape, particularly including the clinical research environment and adoption and spread of new innovations
- Knowledge and experience of working with researchers, clinicians and scientific stakeholders.
- Knowledge of working with researchers, clinicians and scientific stakeholders.
Skills and abilities
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret scientific regulatory and system data
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to convey complex issues clearly.
- Ability to rapidly understand and explain high-level scientific and systems concepts
- Excellent problem-solving skills, with logical, evidence based reasoning
- Fluent in digital collaboration tools to meet, share and work effectively with colleagues.
- Commitment to understanding user needs and behaviours and applying these insights to shape policy, services and communications.
- Ability to stay continually informed about external changes in the health and life sciences environment that affect the treatment development pathway in the UK.
- Ability to build and sustain relationships with senior stakeholders across government, NHS, research and industry.
Experience
- Developing background papers and policy positions for non-technical audiences
- Achieving policy change and influencing high-profile individuals
- Producing clear, persuasive written materials for policy makers and staff to tight deadlines.
- Working in a policy or research role for a charity, government body or relevant industry setting.
About Blood Cancer UK
FLEXIBLE WORKING & OUR BENEFITS
We welcome conversations about part time working, job shares, and all forms of flexible working right from application stage. You can get in touch with us at
if you want to ask us anything about flexible working.
recruitment@bloodcancer.org.ukBenefits:We think our benefits are brilliant, and the majority start from day 1. These are just a few of them:
- 30 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays
- Generous pension scheme and Life Assurance
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, as well as study leave and a day off to move house
- Wellbeing is a priority for us, we offer a wide range of individual and team support in our Wellbeing Hub
- Our Academy is our in-house Continued Professional Development (CPD) learning and development programme, including an internal mentoring scheme. We have organisation-wide focus days, which are days set aside for you to focus on your own development, without being interrupted by emails and meetings.
- Cycle to work and season ticket loans
- Opportunity to take sabbaticals
Location:Working agile means we changed from having a culture where people are expected to be in the office from 9am to 5pm to one where we’re much more focused on what they deliver. We've built a positive culture where autonomy, trust, wellbeing and flexibility allow us to recruit and retain the very best people. We recognise that teams still need to come together regularly to develop relationships and strengthen collaborative working. Therefore, for the majority of roles, your contractual place of work will be one of our offices. The expectation for how often you will be required to attend the office is outlined in the job profile and will be discussed with you. Details about our hybrid and
agile working approach(including how travel expenses work) can be found on our
HOW TO APPLY
We ask you to send us a CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, we'd like to know why you're interested in working with us at Blood Cancer UK. It's also helpful if you tell us why you think you are a great candidate for this role based on the skills, knowledge and expertise section above. Your cover letter doesn't have to be too long, 1-2 pages is ideal. Please don't add photos or graphics to your CV, as we use blind shortlisting at this stage of the process.
Full details about our recruitment
processes, including how we use blind shortlisting and what to expect at each stage of the process can be found on our
website. Sometimes we close our vacancies early, usually because we have had a lot of great applicants, so we’d always encourage you to apply early rather than wait until the deadline.
WHY WORK AT BLOOD CANCER UK?
We started because of Susan, we’ll get there because of you.
Blood Cancer UK was started by one family who lost their daughter, Susan, to blood cancer, and that history and sense of family continues to shape who we are today. When you join Blood Cancer UK, you don’t just become an organisational employee – you become part of a collaborative community dedicated to funding research into beating blood cancer that includes some of the most inspiring people you’ll ever meet.
And we’re not that far away from beating blood cancer. We’re confident we can do it within the next generation, and this makes us hugely ambitious and gives us a sense of real urgency. It also means we’re changing quickly as an organisation as we constantly challenge ourselves and strive to become more and more effective. This pace of change means working here isn’t for everyone. But if you’re excited by the chance to work in a fast-paced, agile and supportive environment with the focus and ambition to beat blood cancer this could be the place for you! We focus on results rather than time spent at a desk, so we deliver more for people affected by blood cancer.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. Read our
statementwhich reflects our strong drive to change in this area.
You can read some examples of how we can support you through the application and interview process
Our Hiring Process
Don't worry if you don't see any roles you want to apply for now. Register your interest to allow us to contact you when a suitable role meeting your criteria comes along. Please note that at the present time, Blood Cancer UK is unable to offer work experience placements or internships.
Clinical Research Programme Lead (mat cover)
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the development, governance, and deliveryof strategic clinical research programmes, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy and funding priorities.
- Identify and developnew clinical funding opportunities aligned with the organisation’s research strategy.
- Establish and oversee programme governancestructures and committees so that funding decisions, performance management and risk oversight are robust, transparent and evidence-led.
- Foster engagement and collaborationacross clinical and research communities to support innovative blood cancer research and strengthen relationships that accelerate clinical research progress
- Oversee the development, coordination and governanceof the UK Blood Cancer Research Network (including its clinical study groups, patient network and early-career researcher network), which identifies research priorities and develops impactful studies for patient benefit.
- Promote inclusion, involvement, and career developmentacross the research community to ensure diverse voices shape research and that early career researchers and clinicians are supported to thrive.
- Lead strategic research programmesto build capacity in blood cancer clinical research, including access to clinical trials, and addressing barriers to clinical-academic careers and research delivery.
- Embed meaningful involvementof people affected by blood cancer in programme design and delivery so that research priorities and study development reflect community needs and experience.
- Collaborate with internal teamsto integrate research initiatives effectively across the organisation, including impact measures and reporting for clinical programmes.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including across our systems influencing work and clinical trial support service, aligning strategic projects and insights from clinical practice to inform programme development.
- Manage the operational budgetingfor clinical programmes and network, working with the Deputy Director of Research, to ensure accurate planning, forecasting and reporting that supports organisational decision making.
- Lead, support and developthe Clinical Research Administrator so that high-quality operational support underpins programme delivery and team objectives are met.
Skills Knowledge and Expertise
Knowledge
- Strong knowledge of the clinical research funding and trial delivery sectors in the UK.
- Educated to degree level or equivalent in a science subject relevant to blood cancer research.
- Knowledge of science subjects relevant to blood cancer research (e.g., biology, biomedical sciences, oncology)
- Familiarity with strategic research funding and programme delivery.
Skills
- Strong relationship management and interpersonal skills.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills for engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including able to translate complex information for different audiences.
- Project and time management skills – managing multiple projects efficiently.
- Comfortable with and enthusiastic about using technology, data, and new ways of working including an understanding of grant management systems
Experience
- Experience of delivering large-scale research programmes, for example in research administration and management (pre- or post-award).
- Experience working with and delivering outcomes for diverse stakeholders in research environments.
- Proven track record of improving or adapting systems/processes in a research funding or programme delivery setting.
About Blood Cancer UK
FLEXIBLE WORKING & OUR BENEFITS
We welcome conversations about part time working, job shares, and all forms of flexible working right from application stage. You can get in touch with us at
if you want to ask us anything about flexible working.
recruitment@bloodcancer.org.ukBenefits:We think our benefits are brilliant, and the majority start from day 1. These are just a few of them:
- 30 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays
- Generous pension scheme and Life Assurance
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, as well as study leave and a day off to move house
- Wellbeing is a priority for us, we offer a wide range of individual and team support in our Wellbeing Hub
- Our Academy is our in-house Continued Professional Development (CPD) learning and development programme, including an internal mentoring scheme. We have organisation-wide focus days, which are days set aside for you to focus on your own development, without being interrupted by emails and meetings.
- Cycle to work and season ticket loans
- Opportunity to take sabbaticals
Location:Working agile means we changed from having a culture where people are expected to be in the office from 9am to 5pm to one where we’re much more focused on what they deliver. We've built a positive culture where autonomy, trust, wellbeing and flexibility allow us to recruit and retain the very best people. We recognise that teams still need to come together regularly to develop relationships and strengthen collaborative working. Therefore, for the majority of roles, your contractual place of work will be one of our offices. The expectation for how often you will be required to attend the office is outlined in the job profile and will be discussed with you. Details about our hybrid and
agile working approach(including how travel expenses work) can be found on our
HOW TO APPLY
We ask you to send us a CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, we'd like to know why you're interested in working with us at Blood Cancer UK. It's also helpful if you tell us why you think you are a great candidate for this role based on the skills, knowledge and expertise section above. Your cover letter doesn't have to be too long, 1-2 pages is ideal. Please don't add photos or graphics to your CV, as we use blind shortlisting at this stage of the process.
Full details about our recruitment
processes, including how we use blind shortlisting and what to expect at each stage of the process can be found on our
website. Sometimes we close our vacancies early, usually because we have had a lot of great applicants, so we’d always encourage you to apply early rather than wait until the deadline.
WHY WORK AT BLOOD CANCER UK?
We started because of Susan, we’ll get there because of you.
Blood Cancer UK was started by one family who lost their daughter, Susan, to blood cancer, and that history and sense of family continues to shape who we are today. When you join Blood Cancer UK, you don’t just become an organisational employee – you become part of a collaborative community dedicated to funding research into beating blood cancer that includes some of the most inspiring people you’ll ever meet.
And we’re not that far away from beating blood cancer. We’re confident we can do it within the next generation, and this makes us hugely ambitious and gives us a sense of real urgency. It also means we’re changing quickly as an organisation as we constantly challenge ourselves and strive to become more and more effective. This pace of change means working here isn’t for everyone. But if you’re excited by the chance to work in a fast-paced, agile and supportive environment with the focus and ambition to beat blood cancer this could be the place for you! We focus on results rather than time spent at a desk, so we deliver more for people affected by blood cancer.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. Read our
statementwhich reflects our strong drive to change in this area.
You can read some examples of how we can support you through the application and interview process
Documents
Our Hiring Process
Don't worry if you don't see any roles you want to apply for now. Register your interest to allow us to contact you when a suitable role meeting your criteria comes along. Please note that at the present time, Blood Cancer UK is unable to offer work experience placements or internships.