Grants Manager - Cancer Grand Challenges

Salary: £35,000 - £42,000 plus benefits 

Reports to: Senior Grants Manager – Cancer Grand Challenges

Department: Research & Innovation

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London with high flexibility (we would expect you to be in the office 2 days per week)

Closing date: Sunday 25th October 23:55pm
This vacancy may close earlier if a high number of applications are received or once a suitable candidate is found, so please do not delay submitting your application to avoid any disappointment.
Interview process: Screening call followed by competency based interview

Interview dates: Approximately w/c 9th November

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 a Grants Manager to join Cancer Grand Challenges (CGC) and deliver operational activities across the Research Team including through open funding calls and review / stewardship of research teams supporting Cancer Grand Challenges’ mission.

About the team

Cancer Grand Challenges is a global funding initiative founded in 2020 by the two largest funders of cancer research in the world: Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US (www.cancergrandchallenges.org).

Cancer Grand Challenges builds on the success of CRUK’s Grand Challenge that launched in 2015 – to date we have committed in excess of c$400m to fund 21 interdisciplinary teams, and our portfolio now includes over 1200 researchers and collaborators across 16 countries. We recently announced our fifth call of teams, and we are thinking about what the next decade for the initiative will look like. So, this is an exciting time to join the team.

When you work at Cancer Grand Challenges, you’ll be employed by Cancer Research UK.

What will you be doing?

• Lead, maintain and deliver work plans, dashboards and documents for relevant research operations activities within Cancer Grand Challenges.
• Lead and coordinate relevant activities of the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee and associated meetings, alongside other Grant Managers, working closely with scientific colleagues and with the committee chair and membership.
• Deliver the application and review processes for Cancer Grand Challenges, working with colleagues to identify and implement improvements within and between funding calls.
• Deliver excellent support to Cancer Grand Challenges applicants to required standards, governance, policies and timeframes by: 
  • Responding to, resolving and redirecting (where necessary) queries from prospective applicants to colleagues in Cancer Grand Challenges, CRUK and NCI
• Advising on eligibility and applicant processes, including review of budgets and application compliance, liaising with internal finance colleagues and funded institutions as required.
• Preparing papers and reports for meetings of the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee and associated meetings; 
• Working with the CRUK Research Funding Product team to deliver application and review processes via the grants management system.
• Retrieving and interpreting application data, metrics and reporting; 
• Maintaining accurate files and records of Cancer Grand Challenges applications and awards, ensuring information may be easily retrieved and is compliant with data protection policies.  
• Interface with Cancer Grand Challenges reviewers, applicants and funded teams, providing excellent operational support throughout the application and award lifecycle, including management of post-award queries, reporting requirements and award close-out activities;
• Support the Grants Finance and Contracts Manager with the implementation of award agreements, ensuring accurate documentation and record keeping; 
• Support the full lifecycle management of Cancer Grand Challenges awards, working closely with Team Leads, Programme Managers and funded teams to help coordinate annual reviews, post-award administration, respond to operational queries, manage award amendments and extensions, and ensure changes are implemented accurately and in accordance with funding agreements, governance requirements and internal processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve grants management processes, systems and guidance, contributing to the development of efficient and user-focused funding operations.
• Assist in activities that will ensure Cancer Grand Challenges scientific activities and programmes are leveraged to advance fundraising by the Cancer Grand Challenges philanthropy team.
• Support the successful planning and delivery of Cancer Grand Challenges meetings and events across the full breadth of team activity.
• Support the Cancer Grand Challenges communications agenda including researcher-facing and public-facing marketing and digital activity.

What are we looking for?

• Relevant experience of grants management
• Relevant experience of managing projects, with ability to develop and deliver complex plans and deliver multiple tasks to competing deadlines and prioritise effectively
• Strong analytical skills, excellent attention to detail and with an ability to present data in a clear and concise format relevant for the audience
• Process management expertise, including implementing and evaluating new processes
• A logical thinker, who enjoys resolving day-to-day problems by developing robust and pragmatic solutions
• Experience of building effective relationships with colleagues at all levels, including with external stakeholders and with a commitment to excellent customer service
• Ability to communicate effectively whilst demonstrating listening skills and an ability to influence others
• Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Office applications and Office 360. 

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 [email protected].  

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 [email protected] 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.