Job Description

Research Finance Manager (Cancer Grand Challenges)

£50,000 - £56,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Programme Manager - Cancer Grand Challenges
Contract: Permanent
Location: Stratford, London Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office).
Hours: Full time 35 hours per week
Application Deadline: Tuesday 1st September 23:55pm
Interview Date: W/C 7th September2026
Recruitment Process: Initial screening call followed by competency-based interview process.

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.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Research Finance Manager to join Cancer Grand Challenges (CGC). This role will provide financial planning, analysis and coordination across Cancer Grand Challenges, working closely with the CGC team, leadership, and CRUK Finance.

The role will serve as primary liaison to the CRUK Finance Team to support coordination of CGC financial management and reporting, and will provide analytical expertise across research, operational and partnership income finance.

Cancer Grand Challenges is a new global cancer research partnership between Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the US National Cancer Institute. This is a rare opportunity to help shape and deliver one of the world’s most ambitious cancer research partnerships. You’ll be joining a passionate, collaborative team working to enable breakthroughs that could transform outcomes for people affected by cancer worldwide.

About Cancer Grand Challenges

Cancer Grand Challenges supports a global community of world-class, interdisciplinary research teams to come together, think differently and take on some of cancer’s toughest challenges, with the ultimate aim of transforming outcomes for people affected by cancer.

Founded by two of the largest funders of cancer research in the world – CRUK and the NCI – Cancer Grand Challenges has the power to create change. The initiative is also supported by CRUK’s global coalition of partners and philanthropists who share our ambitions.

The unique partnership between CRUK and NCI has created an exciting opportunity to bring together our collective insight and expertise of CRUK and NCI and has enabled the initiative to scale significantly. CRUK delivers Cancer Grand Challenges on behalf of the partners and continues to think ambitiously about ways to grow further and have greater impact.

Our mission is to empower the global cancer research community to come together, think differently and solve cancer’s toughest challenges, to transform outcomes for people affected by cancer. To deliver on our mission, we focus on four core objectives:

• Lead a global debate to identify cancer’s most complex challenges

• Make important and transformative discoveries

• Accelerate the translation of discoveries for public and patient benefit

• Build a global community and harness its collective power.

What will you be doing?

The key responsibilities in this role are as follows:

Grants and Research Finance

• Working closely with the Senior Grants Manager and Grants Finance and Contracts Manager, support the calculation of grants for funded host institutions including direct and indirect costs and managing FX rates.

• Input into the annual reforecasts of grants and maintain forward looking projections by host institution and funding stream.

• Working closely with the Grants Finance and Contracts Manager, support with financial audit and reconciliation activity and data requests.

• Support implementation of new research funding models with advice on finance and budgeting processes while coordinating financial inputs.

• Maintain visibility and monitoring of increasingly complex funding flows into and out of CRUK related to grants and research finance.

Partnership finances and income

• Support oversight of all partnership financial arrangements to support reporting and reconciliation for partners;

• Supporting the Senior Grants Manager and Grants Finance and Contracts Manager to aid the management of research funding matters related to the NCI.

• Lead on operational income queries and operational finance processes for the National Cancer Institute and other partners;

• Support financial review of partner contracts / agreements to identify risks, minimising exposure and ensuring value for money.

Operational finance

• Support the Programme Manager on day to day management of CGC operational finance activities.

• Support on the management, reporting and reconciliation of the CGC operational budget with a focus on working with the Leadership Team with tracking and reforecasting of operational budget.

• Lead on management and tracking of non-research grant arrangements including with American Friends of Cancer Research.

• Drive the streamlining and standardisation of financial processes across CGC.

Financial planning and reporting

• Work closely with CRUK Finance Team to provide detailed inputs into planning cycles to build detail across the financial plans.

• Maintain accuracy of underlying programme financial data.

• Provide operational insight and data to inform decision-making.

• Maintain bespoke management reporting in CGC team.

What are we looking for?

Key experience, technical skills and competencies:

• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.

• Excellent project management skills.

• Experience in grants management would be beneficial and familiarity with relevant applications and systems.

• Highly organised, able to set and work to challenging deadlines, and to hold others accountable to demanding deadlines.

• Able to understand and handle complex financial information and problems.

• Strong analytical skills – able to bring structure to complex problems, and extract key issues, and to present data in a clear and concise format.

• Resource management experience, with a demonstrated ability to coach and mentor others within a wider team.

• Process design expertise, including implementing and evaluating new processes.

• Understanding and experience of working within matrix management structures.

• Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Office applications and Office 360.

• Willingness to travel within the UK, and internationally, as required.

Team behaviours

• Excited by and committed to the Cancer Grand Challenges initiative.

• Willing to go above and beyond to ensure this new initiative delivers on its potential.

• Demonstrate excellent self-awareness and understand personal impact.

• Integrated into, and works well as part of a dynamic, evolving team based across different geographical locations.

• Respond well to and embraces change and ambiguity.

• Provide and receive feedback to enable individual and team development.

• Self-starter able to perform independently, as well as part of a team.

• Act as a role model for the team whilst demonstrating integrity and Cancer Grand Challenges brand values.

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 you 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

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.