4,000 professionals, 0 days wasted, 1 incredible purpose. Together, we are beating cancer.

Student Medical Writing Assistant and Clinical Study Coordinator (undergraduate placement scheme)

*Please note this is one role with tasks covering both discipline’s

£23,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Principal Medical Writer

Directorate: Research & Innovation

Contract: 54 Weeks 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: 03 November 2024 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, 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 recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

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 + exercises in relation to the placement

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

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. To hear from some of our past students click here

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.

We have one 54 week placement to offer, with negotiable start dates between July and August 2025.

What will I be doing?

This role will be split between the Medical Writing and Clinical Study Coordinator teams, and will include the following responsibilities:

Provide administrative support to the Medical Writing (MW) and Clinical Study Coordinator (CSC) teams as required.

Support other functions in the Quality Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance (QRPV) department with administrative tasks where appropriate.

Support project teams by co-ordinating internal and external meetings and taking minutes as required.

Maintain and perform quality control of Trial Master Files (TMFs).

Build good working relationships with key functions in the CDD to ensure timely delivery of documents.

Develop and maintain an awareness of the main clinical development activities, in particular those related to the Quality, Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance (QRPV) and Clinical Operations departments.

Develop and maintain an awareness of CDD clinical trials and key projects.

Other tasks delegated by the Principal Medical Writer or Clinical Operations Manager.

What are you 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.

We expect you to have excellent organisational and interpersonal skills, good team work skills, a keen eye for detail, good time management skills and a sound knowledge of Microsoft packages.

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 between July and August 2025 (the start date is negotiable).

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 invited to attend an Interview (likely to be virtual). This will involve some exercises designed to assess your ability and a competency 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 .

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.