Talent & Careers Lead (job share)

Culture of professionalism. Example of leadership. Core of company support.

Talent & Careers Lead - Job share

£58,000 – £60,000 pro rata plus benefits

Reports to: Head of Talent & Leadership

Grade: P3

Directorate: Chief Operating Office

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 2-3 days per week (14-21 hours) job share (please state your preference when applying)

Location: Stratford, London  Office based with high flexibility (1-2 days a week in the office pro-rated for job share)

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: 11 January 2026, 23:55

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.

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: 2 stage interviews. 1st stage competency interview and 2nd stage presentation task.

Interview date: From the week commencing 19th January 2026

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.

At Cancer Research UK, we know that our people are the key to achieving our vision: to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. As Talent and Careers Lead, you’ll shape how we identify, develop, and retain incredible talent across the organisation. This is a part-time, job share role (2-3 days a week), giving you the flexibility to balance your work and life while making a meaningful difference. You’ll work alongside a shared post holder with extensive experience in succession planning and talent identification and management, so it would be highly beneficial if you bring expertise in career development and internal mobility frameworks and practices to complement this partnership. From designing career pathways to enabling movement and growth, you’ll create opportunities that help our people thrive – and ensure we have the skills and leadership we need for the future. If you’re passionate about unlocking potential and driving positive change, this is your chance to make a difference that matters.

What will I be doing?

• Design and maintain career pathways and practical toolkits to help colleagues understand how they can grow and develop within CRUK.
• Equip managers with guides and tools for effective career conversations, supporting decisions about growth, broadening experience, or progression.
• Operate a practical internal mobility framework that enables movement across the organisation and removes barriers.
• Partner with Leadership Development to design programmes that prepare people for the next leadership level.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition and HRBPs to support build–buy–move decisions and smooth transitions.
• Track and report on talent pipeline health and career experience, using data to identify trends and opportunities.
• Lead the succession planning cycle for key roles and populations, tracking coverage and readiness, and highlighting gaps or risks.
• Manage high-potential development processes with clear criteria, progress tracking, and equitable access to opportunities.
• Run inclusive talent identification and assessment processes, turning insights into actionable development plans.
• Maintain a register of talent risks (e.g., single points of dependency) and work with stakeholders to mitigate them.
• Embed diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and confidentiality by default in all frameworks and decisions.

What are we looking for?

• Strong expertise in career development and architecture, including creating clear guidance for managers and employees and partnering on leadership programmes.
• Proven experience designing internal mobility frameworks (e.g., secondments, acting-up, lateral moves) that remove barriers and improve candidate experience.
• Skilled in talent assessment and reviews, ensuring fair and inclusive processes and translating insights into actionable development plans.
• Solid background in succession planning and pipeline management for critical roles, including risk assessment and alignment to workforce priorities.
• Ability to monitor and support high-potential development, applying clear criteria and ensuring equitable access to opportunities.
• Confident in using HR systems and talent data to track pipeline health, interpret trends, and provide clear reports and recommendations.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, partnering effectively across HR (Talent Acquisition, HRBPs) and driving adoption of new career and mobility practices.
• Committed to embedding diversity and inclusion in all talent processes and decisions.

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.

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.

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 020 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.