HR Manager, Cancer Research
Retail
£40-47k
Mid and Senior level
Remote from UK
More information about location
Cancer prevention, awareness and research charity
Open for applications
Cancer prevention, awareness and research charity
1001+ employees
HealthcarePersonal healthCharitySocial ImpactMedTech
Open for applications
£40-47k
Mid and Senior level
Remote from UK
More information about location
1001+ employees
HealthcarePersonal healthCharitySocial ImpactMedTech
Company mission
To prevent, control and cure cancer through ground-breaking research.
Role
Who you are
- If you are a strategic HR Manager or Business Partner who has implemented people plans and change programmes in a large organisation with HR generalist experience advising managers on all aspects of HR processes and policies, we would love for you to join our mission
- Strategic HR Manager or HR Business Partner who has experience creating and implementing people plans in a large organisation
- Ideally has done this in a multi-site environment such as Retail or Hospitality (however, this is desirable, meaning we welcome applicants from alternative industries)
- Proven HR generalist experience advising middle to high-level managers on all aspects of HR processes and policies
- Has built strong, collaborative relationships with a proven ability to work with, influence, and challenge a variety of stakeholders
- Most of the role will be working remotely, so you’ll need to be able to build and manage relationships and communicate effectively within this environment
- Has worked autonomously while ensuring collaboration with peers
- Able to use judgment and distil key priorities and areas of focus when working with ambiguity
- Excellent problem-solving abilities with a proven track record of demonstrating pragmatism, proactivity, tenacity, and initiative
- Able to travel across the UK (Superstores UK-wide and either across our retail network across the South or the North)
- Important note: Region to be allocated depending on your home location
- 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 the job involves
- Reports to: HR Business Partner (Retail)
- Directorate: Chief Operating Office
- Contract: 12 month fixed-term contract
- As an HR Manager, your purpose will be to use your HR knowledge and relationship management skills to partner with our Trading teams across our Superstores and South or North divisions
- As our Superstores are based across the UK, and to support the geographical nature of our team, we encourage North-based applicants as well as those based in the South UK
- In this role, no day will be the same – one day you will be leading on people-related issues, the next creating and implementing people plans, driving employee experience, building performance, and ensuring compliance across Cancer Research UK’s HR policies and procedures for your customer area
- Furthermore, you will lead on HR-driven projects (such as inclusion and well-being, staffing models, the Trading Strategy, and change programmes), so there is plenty for you to get involved in
- Leading HR customer relationships across Cancer Research UK’s Superstores and your assigned region to deliver the HR elements of projects and initiatives that support the Trading Strategy, as well as local people and cultural changes
- This role will look after our UK Superstores and trading teams within either the South or North region, which will be allocated depending on your home location
- Partnering with Divisional Managers to develop and execute local people initiatives to drive performance and deliver area objectives and targets
- Collaborating with the HR Business Partner to support the delivery of the key people projects that make up the Trading Strategy (e.g. sustainable staffing model, etc)
- Proactively partnering with customers to determine the people priorities in their areas and implementing strategic people plans to address these in line with the wider HR operating plan and priorities
- Providing a proactive, efficient, and high-quality generalist HR service to your customer group to address people-related issues, drive employee experience, build performance, and ensure compliance across HR policies and procedures
- Advising, supporting, and coaching managers within your customer group on all people processes, procedures, and guidelines to ensure compliance and mitigate risks
- Collaborating with specialists across HR and the wider organisation to ensure a high-quality HR service is provided to your customer group. This includes:
- Collaborating with the People Services team to review, iterate, or improve our guidance, processes, or training to line managers
- Collaborating with the ER team and providing feedback to the ER Manager, while championing the ER service and ensuring managers are using the service to manage cases efficiently and effectively
- Engaging with the Divisional Learning & Development Lead to develop and roll out manager training modules that support better management of Employee Relations
- Working together with all areas of HR to ensure that the service we provide is seamless and of a good standard
- Sharing people metrics and commentary for your customer areas, highlighting any trends, pulling out relevant insights, and using this data to drive decision-making and create appropriate plans
- Running talent sessions with Area Trading teams in line with the central approach
- Acting as a lead for your areas to provide proactive support and guidance to address concerns or drive progress
- Assisting the HR Business Partner in delivering change management, restructuring, and consultation initiatives (including TUPE and redundancy)
- Developing and maintaining strong working relationships with line managers (this includes attending and contributing to conferences, Business Review Meetings, and HR operations meetings with Divisional Business Managers and Area Managers)
Application process
- Recruitment process: One to two competency-based interviews with a scenario-based exercise
- Interview date: From the week commencing 13 October 2025
- 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 fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively
- 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
Our take
The world’s largest independent cancer research charity, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) was founded from a merger between the Cancer Research Campaign and the Cancer Research Fund in 2002. CRC and ICRF had been longstanding pinnacles of the British medical institution, their work dating back to 1902 and 1923 respectively, and the merger signalled a strong step forward for UK medical institutes’ global influence.
A multi-armed charity, CRUK uses both grant-funded researchers and its own employed staff to research the treatments and causes of cancer, whilst its striking advertising and marketing campaigns are responsible for influencing public policy on the causes, prevention, and treatment of the disease. An example of a significant public campaign was Stoptober, which appeared to have triggered a third of a million smokers at the time to try quit tobacco throughout the month of October.
Alongside its pharmaceutical efforts, in 2023 CRUK funded clinical trials for the first-ever proton beam therapy for breast cancer, indicating a focus on technological innovations in the fight against cancer. On this subject, CRUK has also taken part in a billion-pound investment in the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research institute that is aiming to make England an international leader in the industry.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Led by a woman
9% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Health & Wellbeing - Health and wellbeing are important to us. We want our people to have time away from work to support their different commitments, needs and interests
- Our occupational health and mental wellbeing support are accompanied by online health assessment tools, Our confidential employee assistance programme is available to all to provide support for any concerns in your work or personal life for ongoing everyday support or free counselling if you need it. We also have a team of Mental Health First Aiders supporting across the organisation
- Our occupational health and mental wellbeing support are accompanied by online health assessment tools, Our confidential employee assistance programme is available to all to provide support for any concerns in your work or personal life for ongoing everyday support or free counselling if you need it
- We also have a team of Mental Health First Aiders supporting across the organisation
- UK-wide savings - Our staff have access to a wide range of discounts, benefits and cashback deals to support you with your financial wellbeing, through our Rewards platform. We offer an online savings and discounts portal covering many widely recognised retailers and brands from electronics, groceries, home and leisure, holidays and more
- Cancer Research UK staff can take advantage of savings through a cycle to work scheme, or an interest free loan to help spread the cost of travel season tickets. Staff also enjoy great benefits in and around our head office in Stratford, London with deals at local shops, bars and restaurants
- Income Protection and Life Assurance - We provide all staff with free insurance policies, paying 50% of your salary if you are unable to work through illness, and up to 4 times your salary for your beneficiaries should the unthinkable happen and you die while in our employment
- Flexible Working - We want our people to have time away from work to support their different commitments, needs and interests. We encourage a flexible working culture, including options such as home-working, reduced or flexi-hours, job shares, job-splits, compressed and core hours
- We offer a high level of flexibility for the vast majority of our office-based roles, meaning that you’ll only be required to work from a specific location for 1 or 2 days a week on average
- Annual Leave - For the majority of our roles we offer 25 days holiday a year plus bank holidays, and an extra day for Christmas Eve. You can choose to use the religious bank holidays flexibly. On top of this, you can choose to buy up to 1 week’s additional holiday each year
Company HQ
Stratford, London, UK
Leadership
Previously Non-Executive Director of NHS England for 4 years, and Chief Executive of the MS Society for 5 years.
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