Bold innovation and leadership. Smooth operations. Impacting the future. Product Lead (Corporate Operations) £59,000 - £69,000 ( Benefits ) Grade: P3 Reports to: Head of Product Portfolio (COO) Contract: 2 year 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) 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. Closing date: 12 February 2026 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. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk as soon as possible. Recruitment process: Two competency-based interviews (potentially with a telephone interview and/ or exercise, depending on applications) Interview date: From the week commencing 09 February 2026. We will be shortlisting on a rolling basis, so please do not delay in applying. 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. At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer. We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you. The Chief Operating Office (COO) is Cancer Research UK’s hub for operational management, bringing together several departments (Technology, Finance, HR & General Counsel). Collaborating across the charity, COO ensures we maximise the value of all our resources while delivering operational transformation and an employee experience that enables us to be an inclusive, well-governed, agile, and sustainable organisation. As a Product Lead, you’ll take ownership of COO’s technology estate and partner with colleagues in our Finance, Procurement, General Counsel & Company Secretariat functions who use a range of products, SaaS solutions, and cloud-based technologies. This will involve leading teams, influencing stakeholders and senior leaders in navigating change, shaping product strategies, and driving technology‑enabled transformation and operational improvements. Your legacy by the end of this contract will be to have delivered tangible improvements to user experience, increased resilience, and more efficient performance, enabling Cancer Research UK to achieve our mission and strategic goals. If you’re an experienced technology leader with a track record of transforming products in complex corporate environments, we would love for you to join our mission. What will I be doing? Leading the design, delivery, and transformation of technology products and services for Cancer Research UK’s Finance, Procurement, General Counsel & Company Secretariat functions (including Legal and Risk). Providing leadership across the portfolio of tech-enabled work, including: Two established product teams (with line management of product managers). In-flight programmes and projects such as: Procure-to-Pay (P2P), Supplier Relationship Management, Unit4 Business World cloud migration, process digitisation, and Finance system integrations. Partnering collaboratively with senior business leaders across the Chief Operating Office (COO) to: Shape strategy and deliver Cancer Research UK’s ambitious programme of change. Drive key business outcomes, operational efficiency, resilience, and optimisation of corporate systems. Leading the creation of a roadmap that is strategically aligned, technically viable, and widely understood. Setting, forecasting, and managing budgets and financial planning processes. Ensuring that Cancer Research UK has the right culture, skills, and processes for successful delivery and transformation. Line managing two Product Managers, and matrix managing project teams. This includes: Leading and motivating your teams, contributing to a culture of high performance, acting as a role model, and setting high professional standards for performance and behaviour. Defining and ensuring the high-quality, fast-paced delivery of product outcomes across your teams. Providing coaching and skills development. Managing supplier relationships, ensuring that technology partnerships deliver value and meet internal users’ business needs. Collaborating with others to ensure that your products are appropriately supported, minimise performance risks, and adhere to SLAs and other operational requirements. What skills will I need? Experienced technology leader with a strong record of delivering transformation and technology‑enabled operational improvements in complex enterprise environments. Candidates may come from roles such as Product Lead, Delivery Lead, Transformation Lead, Change Manager, Programme Manager, ERP Manager, or similar. Has effectively balanced user needs, strategic and technical requirements, and operational demand in large, complex organisations with constrained resources. Knowledge of corporate operations and systems (including ERP and Finance systems). Has successfully built credible and collaborative internal and external stakeholder relationships with strong interpersonal, communication, influencing, and negotiating skills (including senior leadership). Experience partnering with Finance and Legal teams would be advantageous. Commercially minded with a successful track record of managing supplier relationships and driving value from technology partnerships. A resilient and adaptable leader with experience driving change and leading and motivating teams and stakeholders in navigating ambiguity and responding to evolving business needs. A proactive, solutions-focused approach to problem-solving, encouraging innovation, promoting best practices, and challenging conventional organisational approaches and thinking. 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 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. Additional Information For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk. For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, 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 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.