Senior Research Grants Officer
Since 1960 we have invested more than £500 million in blood cancer research in the UK. Where we’ve invested, survival rates and quality of life have improved. We’ve been working to beat blood cancer for over 50 years, and we won’t stop until we do. Be a part of our story and help us change the world. We’re looking for a Senior Research Grants Officer to play a key role in delivering and strengthening our research portfolio spanning translational and clinical research. You’ll lead on the coordination and delivery of the Transformational Research Awards Scheme, support clinical trial review processes, and oversee a portfolio of active grants to ensure funding decisions and post-award management are rigorous, transparent and strategically aligned. You’ll also play an important part in strengthening how we fund and manage research. From supporting the implementation of a new Grants Management System to refining processes and providing expert guidance to researchers, committee members and senior stakeholders, you’ll help ensure our investment delivers maximum impact. If you bring strong biomedical knowledge, grant administration experience and a passion for driving progress for people affected by blood cancer, we’d love to hear from you.
This is a hybrid role with regular anchor days in our London office, alongside attendance at key meetings, conferences and team events throughout the year. We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. In line with our strategy we welcome approaches from individuals from underrepresented groups, including minority communities, and applicants with a disability, to better reflect the community we serve and help broaden our perspectives. Application Deadline March 09, 2026 Department Research, Policy & Services Employment Type Fixed Term Contract Location London/Hybrid Workplace type Hybrid Compensation £37,593 - £39,132 / year
Key Responsibilities
1. Oversee the pre award management and delivery of the Transformational Research Award Scheme to ensure that applications are rigorously assessed, strategically aligned and compliant with AMRC guidance so that high quality research is identified and funded.
2. Coordinate the Blood Cancer UK Clinical Trial Review Committee’s review of funding applications to ensure assessment processes uphold rigorous governance and support fair, evidence based funding recommendations.
3. Manage a portfolio of active awards ensuring researchers are effectively supported, risks and delays are addressed proactively, variations follow policy and financial claims are accurate, auditable and aligned with agreed budget.
4. Deliver structured progress monitoring for awards reviewed by the Clinical Trial Review Committee to ensure timely assessment against milestones, early identification and mitigation of issues and maximisation of outcomes and impact.
5. Play a core role in the implementation of a new Grants Management System. Act as a superuser to help ensure the system supports robust pre and post award management and provides accurate accessible data to the research team and wider organisation.
6. Improve research funding processes and workflows to achieve greater alignment with internal strategic goals and external regulatory requirements to maximise the teams effectiveness.
7. Provide authoritative information, advice and support to internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure accurate engagement, timely communications and alignment with organisational messaging and fundraising needs.
8. Support the development of junior colleagues through coaching, knowledge sharing and training so that team capability and consistency remain high.
9. Represent Blood Cancer UK at relevant external meetings, networks and partnerships to ensure the charity remains visible, aligned with best practice and informed by emerging trends in the research funding sector.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Knowledge
10. Degree or postgraduate qualification in a biomedical science or related scientific discipline.
11. Strong understanding of medical research and/or grant making processes
12. Knowledge of research governance and financial oversight.
Skills
13. Confident communicator able to engage credibly with senior academics, committee members and internal leaders.
14. Strong analytical skills enabling interpretation of scientific proposals, financial information and risks.
15. Ability to manage complex funding rounds, manage competing priorities and make informed judgement calls under pressure.
16. Skilled in using and improving digital grant management tools, with the ability to act as a superuser.
Experience
17. Experience in research grant administration, research management or biomedical research
18. Experience managing a diverse portfolio of grants and resolving complex post-award issues.
19. Experience improving systems or processes, ideally including Grant Management System workflows.
20. Experience preparing reports, briefings or papers for panels, committees or senior stakeholders.
About Blood Cancer UK
FLEXIBLE WORKING & OUR BENEFITS
We welcome conversations about part time working, job shares, and all forms of flexible working right from application stage. You can get in touch with us at if you want to ask us anything about flexible working.
Benefits: We think our benefits are brilliant, and the majority start from day 1. These are just a few of them:
21. 30 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays
22. Generous pension scheme and Life Assurance
23. Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, as well as study leave and a day off to move house
24. Wellbeing is a priority for us, we offer a wide range of individual and team support in our Wellbeing Hub
25. Our Academy is our in-house Continued Professional Development (CPD) learning and development programme, including an internal mentoring scheme. We have organisation-wide focus days, which are days set aside for you to focus on your own development, without being interrupted by emails and meetings.
26. Cycle to work and season ticket loans
27. Opportunity to take sabbaticals
You can find full details about our on our .
Location: Working agile means we changed from having a culture where people are expected to be in the office from 9am to 5pm to one where we’re much more focused on what they deliver. We've built a positive culture where autonomy, trust, wellbeing and flexibility allow us to recruit and retain the very best people. We recognise that teams still need to come together regularly to develop relationships and strengthen collaborative working. Therefore, for the majority of roles, your contractual place of work will be one of our offices. The expectation for how often you will be required to attend the office is outlined in the job profile and will be discussed with you. Details about our hybrid and (including how travel expenses work) can be found on our .
HOW TO APPLY
We ask you to send us a CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, we'd like to know why you're interested in working with us at Blood Cancer UK. It's also helpful if you tell us why you think you are a great candidate for this role based on the skills, knowledge and expertise section above. Your cover letter doesn't have to be too long, 1-2 pages is ideal. Please don't add photos or graphics to your CV, as we use blind shortlisting at this stage of the process.
Full details about our recruitment, including how we use blind shortlisting and what to expect at each stage of the process can be found on our. Sometimes we close our vacancies early, usually because we have had a lot of great applicants, so we’d always encourage you to apply early rather than wait until the deadline.
WHY WORK AT BLOOD CANCER UK?
We're the 9th best charity in the UK to work for according to Best Companies 2021!
We started because of Susan, we’ll get there because of you.
Blood Cancer UK was started by one family who lost their daughter, Susan, to blood cancer, and that history and sense of family continues to shape who we are today. When you join Blood Cancer UK, you don’t just become an organisational employee – you become part of a collaborative community dedicated to funding research into beating blood cancer that includes some of the most inspiring people you’ll ever meet.
And we’re not that far away from beating blood cancer. We’re confident we can do it within the next generation, and this makes us hugely ambitious and gives us a sense of real urgency. It also means we’re changing quickly as an organisation as we constantly challenge ourselves and strive to become more and more effective. This pace of change means working here isn’t for everyone. But if you’re excited by the chance to work in a fast-paced, agile and supportive environment with the focus and ambition to beat blood cancer this could be the place for you! We focus on results rather than time spent at a desk, so we deliver more for people affected by blood cancer.
Blood Cancer UK offers the chance to work for and with people affected by blood cancer, and the opportunity to advance your career and develop your skillset whilst taking on exciting new challenges and making your mark.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. Read our which reflects our strong drive to change in this area.To this end we would welcome approaches from individuals from underrepresented groups, including minoritised communities, and applicants with a disability, to better reflect the community we serve and help broaden our perspectives.
You can read some examples of how we can support you through the application and interview process
Documents
Role profile senior research grants officer (1)Click to view Job pack - senior research grants officerClick to view
Our Hiring Process
Don't worry if you don't see any roles you want to apply for now. Register your interest to allow us to contact you when a suitable role meeting your criteria comes along. Please note that at the present time, Blood Cancer UK is unable to offer work experience placements or internships.