Head of Marketing and Communications - Cancer Grand Challenges

Head of Marketing & Communications, Cancer Grand Challenges

Salary: £75,000 - £85,000 pa depending on experience

Reports to: Director of Cancer Grand Challenges

Department: Research & Innovation

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week (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 2 days per week). There will be a requirement for international travel c 4-6 times per year.

Closing date: Thursday 10th April at 23.55. 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.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of Marketing & Communications to join the Cancer Grand Challenges to lead a small team and be responsible for driving the strategic development, delivery and evaluation of all aspects of the Cancer Grand Challenges brand, marketing, communications and PR strategy. A key focus of the role will be to develop our strategic marketing and communications approaches to support income generation in the UK, US, Europe and beyond.

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 16 interdisciplinary teams, and our portfolio now includes over 1200 researchers and collaborators across 16 countries. We recently launched our fifth call for applications to address seven new challenges, 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 I be doing?

• Continue to build the overarching Cancer Grand Challenges (CGC) brand, marketing, communications, and PR strategy ensuring the strategy reflects the global ambition and impact of the initiative.
• Own the CGC brand and ensure there is a clear and well understood brand proposition that stands out against the competition and that stays relevant.
• Develop marketing and communications activities that build CGC as a global brand in cancer research and ensure stakeholders who engage with the brand are informed, inspired and motivated to get involved.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key journalists and outlets across mainstream and science media, to build CGC as a thought leader, an authoritative science brand and to maximise opportunities to increase reach to all global audiences.
• Develop a deep knowledge and understanding of the CGC research portfolio and leverage CGC science and its scientists to maximise philanthropic and partnership opportunities.
• Develop and oversee the delivery of a portfolio of events in the UK and US as well as other international locations, including events to facilitate collaboration across the CGC research community.
• Establish a framework to continually evaluate the impact of all marketing and communication activity.
• Lead a small group of communications, events, and advocacy professionals.
• Ensure all activities are managed to agreed budgets and are cost effective, including all communications activities that are outsourced to third party organisations.

What skills are we looking for?

• Extensive experience and an excellent track record at building and leading the delivery of an integrated brand, marketing and communications strategy in a relevant sector, with experience of successfully leading campaigns at a global level. Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to develop innovative and forward-thinking strategies and translate these into operational plans.
• Considerable experience of building relationships with senior stakeholders internally and externally, particularly with journalists and media outlets.
• Experience or understanding of the importance of involving patients or people impacted by cancer into the delivery of programme and project delivery.
• Significant experience of managing complex projects with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with strong attention to detail and the ability to interpret and explain complex information in a creative and engaging manner.
• Experience of managing budgets, financial reporting and analysing data to inform strategic and tactical decision making.
• Strong leadership and people management skills with a proven tracked record in coaching, motivating, and developing teams.
• Able to undertake significant international travel.

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.

Please note: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.