Strategic Brand Manager

Big ideas. Lifelong connections. One objective.  

STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGER
 

Salary: £45,000 - £50,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Strategic Brand Lead

Directorate: Marketing, Fundraising and Engagement

Contract: 12 month fixed-term contract

Working hours: 35 hours per week (we are open to compressed hours)

Location: Stratford, London w/ high-flex (1 – 2 days per week in the office)

Closing date: 20 October 2025, 23:55

Please note: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

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 shares our vision, someone like you. ​ 
 

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join us as a Strategic Brand Manager. We need you to inspire and support internal and agency teams to drive brand consistency and clarity in order to grow our relevance and engagement across all of our charity’s touchpoints and experiences.
This role requires agile, strategic thinking and the ability to inspire and lead other teams on all aspects of brand development (strategic and creative), working with a wide variety of colleagues and external partners.

What will I be doing? 

• Helping to embed the charity’s new brand positioning across the organisation, being an effective ambassador for the power of a unified, consistent brand and its vital role in building a stronger organisation
• Support the Strategic Brand Lead in the implementation of the new brand strategy – working with the creative team, stakeholders and agency partners as we evolve our existing brand assets in line with the new positioning
• Project managing brand projects, ensuring tight budget setting and control, timely / efficient reporting, exemplary stakeholder engagement
• Primary brand consultant for colleagues across the organisation all levels, supporting teams to build a cohesive, recognisable and relevant brand experience across all output (including those developed with our agencies); helping to bring to life our purpose and positioning with effective use of our brand assets and guidelines
• Partnering with specific CRUK teams, pro-actively initiating meetings and conversations with them to identify where we can work together and add value
• Advising stakeholders on brand and creative development, ensuring our brand strategy and guidelines are adhered to and our brand metrics are embedded in all briefs.
• Keeping internal and external stakeholders up-to-date with key brand developments. This will sometimes require you to create and run workshops, training sessions and presentations.
• Working with our Insights team to help monitor and evaluate our brand health and test potential changes
• Identifying and helping to resolve any day-to-day operational difficulties, e.g. helping to agree relevant guidelines, “how to” guides, training requirements or recommend changes.

What skills will I need? 

• Significant brand expertise and understanding of brand strategy, development and management, with proven experience in the development of effective brand assets, guidelines and tools
• Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to filter, synthesise and clarify information and transform complex problems into concise and robust solutions, which are informed by our brand guidelines and frameworks
• Creative skills with a strong ability to judge the brand calibre of creative work across a wide variety of touchpoints from film and print to digital and experiential.

• Proven influencing skills, with the ability to present clear recommendations in a way that’s tailored to the needs of the specific audience and occasion
• Strong skills in all aspects of project management: naturally organised, you clarify objectives, set and meet deadlines, communicate clearly and succinctly with relevant stakeholders and run a tight budget

• A commercial and analytical mindset

• Strong problem-solving skills, able to identify and resolve day-to-day operational problems, and introduce improved processes to keep things running smoothly
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, while also being able to multi-task and prioritise to meet objectives.

What will I gain? 
 

Each and every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that’s impressive. 
 

In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies and processes to enable you to do your job well. 
 

Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more. 
 

We don’t forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture. 
 

Our work – from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy – will change the world. It’s exciting to be part of our team. 
 
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 complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.

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.