Head Of Strategy

4,000 professionals, 0 days wasted, 1 incredible purpose. Together we are beating cancer.

Head of Strategy

Salary: £80,000 - £85,000 (dependent on experience).

Reports to: Executive Director of Strategy and Philanthropy.

Department: Strategy

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week. We're open to a variety of ways of working, including compressed hours or part-time.

Location: Stratford, London. Office- based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Closing date: 16 January 2024

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.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of Strategy to join Cancer Research UK. In this role you will work with the Council, Executive Board, and other key stakeholders to lead the ongoing development and refinement of Cancer Research UK's (CRUK) corporate strategy and to develop aligned sub-strategies within and across Directorates.

In addition, you will work with colleagues across the organisation to ensure we have plans at corporate and Directorate levels to implement our strategy effectively - including through leading on the annual operational planning process, and work with Finance to ensure that there is alignment between our financial and strategic plans.

The Strategy Team supports leaders at Cancer Research UK to develop our corporate strategy and to ensure that we have plans to implement it effectively. We bring external insight, structure, and creativity to complex issues. We work across the whole charity - from research and innovation through to policy, information, mass fundraising, philanthropy, and partnerships.

This is an excellent opportunity to use your strategy skills to make a difference for people affected by cancer.

What will I be doing?

Strategy Development:

• Ensure that CRUK is refining and enhancing its Corporate Strategy (published in 2022) and that the strategy remains robust given changes in the external environment.
• Ensure and where necessary further develop functional strategies (directorate/ sub-strategies) across CRUK that align with corporate strategy.
• Drive an outward looking culture, helping leadership to identify and understand the implications of shifts in the external landscape for our strategic direction/ priorities, and bringing new thinking/ opportunities in to CRUK.
• Support the CEO and Executive Board to prioritise CRUK's strategy development needs.
• Oversee strategy development projects from conception through to robust recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to improve sector-wide collaboration.
• Lead ad hoc strategic projects in areas of critical priority.
• Drive a culture of collaboration in the development of strategies, ensuring appropriate internal and external involvement and input into strategy work.

Strategy Implementation and planning:

• Work with Communications teams to ensure a clear understanding of CRUK's strategy and priorities with key audiences e.g., launch and embed corporate strategy with staff and core purpose strategy with the research community, key opinion leaders, supporters and people affected by cancer.
• Support the CEO to establish and maintain a solid connection between CRUK's purpose, strategies, business, and financial plans.
• Work with Finance and the COO to develop and implement CRUK's approach to corporate planning, including leading the mid-term business planning process.
• Establish strategic progress indicators that tell us whether we are successfully delivering against our corporate plan and ensure that these are reflected in directorate/team objectives.
• Report our strategic progress indicators regularly to EB and trustees, recommending course corrections as necessary.
• Support leaders and relevant teams across CRUK to help staff better understand our objectives and plans.
• Co-ordinate the process to modify CRUK's plans in response to major change, e.g. external threats/opportunities.

Team Development:

• Lead and continuously improve the Strategy team, encouraging an inclusive and high functioning team through ongoing development and coaching, enabling the team and individuals to reach their potential.
• Ensure equality, diversity and inclusion are celebrated and considered as part of all decisions taken.
• Build strong relationships with Directorates, particularly Executive Directors and Directors, and ensure the team can collaborate effectively with other functions across the charity.

Communication & Representation:

• Represent the Executive Director where appropriate at internal and external meetings.
• Represent CRUK in interactions with partner organisations (where appropriate) to ensure that CRUK is helping inform opinion and best practice.
• Prepare or lead the preparation of papers and presentations for a variety of stakeholder groups, including Executive and Trustee meetings.

What skills are you looking for?

• Strong background in business strategy, ideally gained through management consultancy or internal consultancy positions.
• Sound financial and business acumen.
• Strong strategic thinking expertise and experience, together with a working knowledge of strategic planning tools and frameworks, and their appropriate application.
• Experience of initiating, managing, and delivering strategic projects with proven impact.
• Experience of managing and supervising staff in project teams
• Capacity to work flexibly and be comfortable in a rapidly changing working environment.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, able to prioritise and manage multiple tasks, working to challenging targets and deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal relationship management skills and a collaborative working style with staff at all levels of seniority.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills; the ability to communicate complex issues simply and in a way that delivers actionable insight and recommendations.
• Credible influencer and negotiator, able to demonstrate that they understand others' points of view whilst successfully putting an alternative point of view into the discussion or debate.
• An independent thinker, able and willing to challenge the status quo.
• Achievement and action orientated; ability to take initiative, generate action in self and others, prioritise and deliver against demanding goals, meeting delivery expectations of senior stakeholders.
• Intellectually curious and excited by the opportunity to work across a wider range of content areas (e.g., corporate strategy, research strategy, influencing strategy, fundraising strategy).
• Experience of working across a variety of sectors is preferred and experience in healthcare/ life sciences/ medical research funding would be particularly beneficial.

What will I gain?

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.