Head of Strategic Partnerships (Non-Commercial)

Head of Strategic Partnerships (non-commercial)

Salary: £75,000 - £90,000 depending on experience

Reports to: Director of Research and Partnerships

Department: Research & Innovation

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week (other flexible-working requests will also be considered if it meets business needs)

Location: Stratford, London with high flexibility (we would expect you to be in the office 1-2 days per week) The role will also require some UK and international travel.

Closing date: Sunday 15th March 2026 at 23.55.

Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK can consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If this applies to you, please ensure that this is clearly marked on your application.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

To help us with our mission we have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of Strategic Partnerships to join us to shape and manage our non-commercial research partnerships. This is a key role, where you’ll lead the strategic direction of research partnerships with national and international organisations.

About The Team

In Research & Partnerships, we drive maximum patient benefit by delivering world-class discovery, clinical, prevention and early detection research in partnership with the best researchers and organisations worldwide. Our teams lead on the scientific portfolio across research careers, our Research Institutes, Centres, Unit and response mode funding. 

What will I be doing?

• Lead the strategic direction and delivery of research partnerships with national and international organisations from across the non-commercial and academic research sectors, in line with CRUK’s overarching research strategy 
• Deliver effective partnerships to leverage funding and other support for priority research initiatives, scoping new partnership opportunities, agreeing and delivering targets for these partnerships  
• Maintain strong relationships with existing partners, identifying opportunities to expand these 
• Lead the Strategic Partnerships Team (Non-Commercial) to provide relationship management, transactional and project management support to teams across the Research & Innovation Directorate (R&I)  
• Scope options to increase breadth, depth and impact of R&I non-commercial partnership activities by driving exploratory discussions and relationship building activities with new organisations and territories, including coordinating senior leadership engagement  

Proactive, strategic thinker who spots opportunities with a proven ability to translate this into operational plans 

Strong and motivating leadership skills, with experience of leading a team 

Excellent presentation skills with experience of presenting to national and international audiences 

Experience of managing a diverse portfolio of projects involving stakeholders from multiple teams 

Strong influencing and networking skills 

A strong advocate and implementor of cross-organisational working 

Experience of managing finances and resources of a significant budget 

Experience of working with legal advisors to put in place contracts and working within accepted legal frameworks 

Ability to build trust and work discreetly with confidential and sensitive material 

PhD (or equivalent experience) in life sciences / medical research 

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. 

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 quickly, fairly, and objectively.

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter 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 0

20 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.