Community spirit. Ceaseless ambition. Passion that just keeps growing.
Senior Programme Manager – Give Transformation
£56,000 -£62,000 plus benefits
Reports to: Head of Proposition
Grade: P3
Directorate: Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement
Contract: Fixed Term contract till December 2027
Hours: Full time 35 hours per week
Location: Stratford, London. High Flex (1-2 days per week in office) Flexible working requests will be considered.
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.
External closing date: 28 June 2026, 23:55
Internal closing date: 5 July 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 application questions and 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 [email protected] as soon as possible.
Recruitment process: 2 stage interview process consisting of presentation tasks and role-based competency interviews and a presentation task.
Interview date: From 14 July 2026
At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.
Senior Programme Manager – Give Transformation
At Cancer Research UK, our mission is simple: to beat cancer. To get there, we’re transforming how people give, making it easier, more effective, and more sustainable for the long term.
We’re looking for a Senior Programme Manager to lead our ambitious Give Transformation, a complex, high-impact programme focused on redefining regular giving and building next-generation payment and donation experiences. This is a unique opportunity to apply your expertise, particularly from large, complex private sector environments with sophisticated payment systems to a cause that saves lives.
The opportunity
You’ll take overall responsibility for shaping and delivering our Give Strategy, turning bold ambition into clear priorities, accountable delivery and measurable outcomes. Working across Marketing, Fundraising, Technology and Finance, you’ll lead a diverse portfolio of change, ensuring strong governance, pace, and alignment with CRUK’s wider transformation agenda.
This is a critical leadership role where you’ll:
- Drive end-to-end delivery of a complex, cross-functional transformation
- Bring clarity to priorities, sequencing and ownership across multiple workstreams
- Establish strong governance, decision making forums and controls
- Manage dependencies, risks and resources across a large-scale programme
- Build senior stakeholder alignment, providing both support and challenge
- Maintain momentum, unblock issues and ensure delivery against outcomes
Who we’re looking for
You’ll be a proven programme leader with experience operating at scale—ideally in organisations with complex payment systems or customer journeys. You bring:
- Strong strategic mindset with a focus on measurable outcomes
- Experience leading large transformation programmes across matrixed organisations
- Confidence influencing senior stakeholders and driving decisions
- Expertise in governance, planning, and delivery across technology and business change
- A data-driven, agile approach to delivering value
Why join us?
This is your chance to use your skills to solve meaningful, real-world challenges—helping to build the future of giving and accelerate progress towards a world where everybody lives longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.
Bring your expertise. Help us beat cancer.
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.
Internal Eligibility criteria
Internal candidates should ideally have completed their 6-month ‘getting started’ period before applying for other roles. You should also advise your current line manager at the point you make an internal application, or at the latest, at the point of being invited for an interview.
All internal candidates applying for a secondment, must have:
- completed their getting started period
- discussed their intention to apply and gained approval to apply with their line manager
- been in their substantive (home) role for at least 6 months (this is only applicable if you have previously been on secondment)
If you do not confirm that you meet these requirements, we will not be able to progress your application.
Additional information
For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].
For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.
We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner.
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. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed.
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 by emailing us at [email protected].
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.
Skills Required
- Eligible to work in the UK (no visa sponsorship available)
- Proven programme leader with experience operating at scale
- Experience from large, complex organisations with sophisticated payment systems or customer journeys
- Experience leading large transformation programmes across matrixed organisations
- Expertise in governance, planning, and delivery across technology and business change
- Confidence influencing senior stakeholders and driving decisions
- Data-driven, agile approach to delivering value
What We Do
Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research, influence and information. Nearly one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but we’re finding new ways to outsmart it, so that more people can live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer. We carry out scientific research to help prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and our groundbreaking work, funded almost entirely by the general public, will ensure that millions more people survive. Together we are beating cancer. Registered charity No. 1089464
