Job Description

Programme Administrator (CDD)

£23,132 - £27,500 plus benefits

Reports to: Personal Assistant

Directorate: Research & Innovation

Contract: 18 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)

Closing date: Friday 17 April 2026 23:55pm

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.

Recruitment process: Competency based interview via Teams + tasks relating to MS Office

Interview date: W/C 27 April 2026

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We have an opportunity for a proactive, diligent and organised individual to join us as Programme Administrator within The Cancer Research UK Centre for Drug Development (CDD)

CDD is the world's only charity-funded drug development facility. Our pioneering research is driven purely by the goal to see scientific breakthroughs bring benefits to patients sooner. CDD is the sponsor of early phase and precision medicine clinical trials in oncology agents. Our broad portfolio rivals that of a medium-sized pharmaceutical company, spanning antibodies, cell therapies, vaccines, drug conjugates and small molecules, making this an interesting and dynamic area to work in.

It is an exciting time for CDD as we’re expanding our teams to move forward with an ambitious new strategy to maximise the impact of our research to benefit patients. Several teams are hiring new roles to make this new strategy a reality, expanding the size of our project portfolio and bringing in new skills as we work more internationally.

In this busy role you will provide support to two Head functions and work alongside the wider CDD team to create an efficient, comprehensive and proactive admin support function. You’ll bring with you experience in minute taking and diary management and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment that provides you with opportunity to get involved in various projects. In return you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside some of CRUKs sharpest minds and be privy to the life changing research that bring benefit to patients sooner.

What will I be doing?

• Supporting the Head of Study, Project & Portfolio Management and the Head of Clinical Operations and Data Management in tracking overall team functional goals.

• To provide administrative support to both teams through providing the secretariat for internal and external meetings, maintaining records, and by documenting meeting minutes and their associated actions.

• General support including undertaking finance for the Centre for Drug Development (CDD) when required.

What are you looking for?

• Excellent minute taking skills

• Excellent diary management skills

• Knowledge of finance administration (e.g. raising POs, invoicing)

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint and Teams

• Experience of working within an administrative capacity for a team

• Accuracy and attention to detail

• Excellent planning and organisational ability, prioritising conflicting demands and working to deadlines.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships across the charity, building an understanding of how different team’s function

• Proactivity and self-motivation

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

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 complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk

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

For information only – this is automatically added by Workday so please don’t include in your posting

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

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. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

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.