Student Clinical Study Coordinator (undergraduate placement scheme)

Salary: £24,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Associate Clinical Operations Manager
Directorate: Research & Innovation
Contract: Two 56-Week, Fixed-term Contracts
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: Tuesday 3rd November 2026 23:55pm
This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received therefore, we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. Please let us know if there is anything about the recruitment process that you would like to discuss, in particular if there are any changes or adjustments that would make it easier for you to apply. Please contact [email protected]
Recruitment process:  Screening tasks in relation to the placement and successful candidates will be invited to a competency-based interview.

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.

Cancer Research UK are looking for two motivated and ambitious undergraduate students to join our Centre for Drug Development as a Student Clinical Study Coordinator. You will aid in the development of new cancer therapies by supporting the exploratory, pre-clinical, set-up, monitoring and archiving aspects of clinical trials in accordance with Cancer Research UK Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and policies, ICH GCP guidelines, European Union Directives, UK legislations and other regulatory requirements.

To find out more, read all details below. You can also hear from some of our past students here.

About the placement   

The Centre for Drug Development (CDD) at Cancer Research UK consists of a diverse and experienced office-based team who sponsor and manage high-quality early phase clinical trials. We work in collaboration with leading scientists and clinicians around the UK to develop effective new anti-cancer treatments. 

Here at the CDD, we’re offering a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience and training within a world class clinical research environment. Our placements will provide you with an exciting opportunity to develop key skills, which will help to open doors to future careers within this industry. During this placement year, the chosen candidates will be provided with training, mentorship, and exposure to key roles in drug development and pharmaceutical research. 

We have 2 placements to offer and they last for 56 weeks, starting in July 2027 (Estimated start date 1st July 2027).

What will you be doing?

• Supporting project teams by co-ordinating internal and external meetings. Preparing for meetings and taking minutes as required.

• Performing Quality Control checks within the electronic Trial Master File (eTMF).

• Uploading documents to the eTMF on a regular basis.

• Co-ordinating Trial Master File reviews.

• Supporting clinical trial set up activities and assisting in the creation of clinical trial documents.

• Distributing essential documents such as protocols, investigator brochures, and clinical study reports to investigational sites, maintaining recipient logs/trackers to ensure availability of current documentation.

• Ensure sufficient stocks of study related consumables in-house and at investigational sites, creating and maintaining trackers where required.

• Coordinating pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic (PD) and biopsy sample shipments for timely delivery and analysis between investigational sites and analysing laboratories.

• Archiving of Clinical Trial Documents if required.

• Other tasks delegated by the Clinical Operations Manager.

What are we looking for? 

If you’re a motivated life sciences student, with an interest in drug development and oncology clinical trials, then this is your opportunity to gain invaluable experience working within the pharmaceutical sector. You will also be able to demonstrate:

• Strong organisational and time management skills

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal)

• Excellent attention to detail

• Ability to work as part of a team and independently in an enthusiastic, pro-active fashion

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft based packages (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) 

• Experience in collecting, handling and tracking data

• Familiarity with ICH/GCP guidelines would be beneficial but isn’t essential

• Experience of taking meeting minutes would be beneficial

• Experience working in an office environment would be beneficial but isn’t essential

Please read the following information carefully before applying: 

If you would like to apply for the placement student scheme, please ensure that you meet the following criteria before completing your application form: 

• You must be in your 2nd year of undergraduate study at university. Please note that applications from graduates and PhD students will NOT be considered for this scheme. 

• You should expect to receive a 2:1 or grade B in your second-year results in a science related degree. 

• You should have 3 A levels (or equivalent) grade B and above (preferably one in a biological science). 

• You should be able to commence work in July 2027.

• You should have the right to live and work in the UK without restriction. We regret that we cannot consider applications from candidates who require a work permit to work in the UK. 

If you meet these requirements, we look forward to receiving your application. Please note that this role is flexible role (office based with an option to partly work from home), not laboratory based. 

Useful tips for completion of the application form: 

• Read through the whole form first and draft your answers accordingly. 

• Complete all sections - please do not leave any gaps. 

• Check your spelling and grammar. 

• Be concise and focused in your answers. 

• Please ensure your CV is attached with your application, as applications without a CV will not be considered. 
• And finally, don’t forget, it’s important that you tell us how you found out about the scheme. 

If your application is short listed, you will be given some screening tasks in relation to the placement and successful candidates will be invited to a competency-based interview.

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 and answer some screening questions for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

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.

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.

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.