Student Medical Writing and Pharmacovigilance Assistant

Salary:

£24,000 plus benefits

Reports to:

Principal Medical Writer

Directorate:

Research & Innovation

Contract:

54 Week, Fixed Term Contract

Hours:

Full-time, 35 hours per week

Location:

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

Closing Date:

Sunday 9th November 23:55pm. This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received; therefore, we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment.

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.

About the Role:

Cancer Research UK is looking for a motivated and ambitious undergraduate student to join our Centre for Drug Development (CDD) as a Student Medical Writing and Pharmacovigilance Assistant. You will aid in the development of new cancer therapies by providing administrative support to the Medical Writing (MW) and Pharmacovigilance (PV) teams in accordance with CRUK Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and policies, International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and requirements to facilitate the successful execution of MW and PV clinical trial-related activities within the Centre for Drug Development (CDD).

About the Placement:

The CDD at Cancer Research UK consists of a diverse and experienced office-based and home-based team who sponsor and manage high-quality early phase clinical trials. We work in collaboration with leading scientists and clinicians around the UK to develop effective new anti-cancer treatments. Here at the CDD, we’re offering a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience and training within a world-class clinical research environment. Our placements will provide you with an exciting opportunity to develop key skills, which will help to open doors to future careers within this industry. During this placement year, the chosen candidates will be provided with training, mentorship, and exposure to key roles in drug development and pharmaceutical research.

If you’re a motivated life sciences student, with an interest in drug development and oncology clinical trials, then this is your opportunity to gain invaluable experience working within the pharmaceutical sector. We have one 54-week placement to offer, with a negotiable start date in July 2027.

What will you be doing?

This role will be split between the Medical Writing and Pharmacovigilance teams, and will include the following responsibilities:

• Provide administrative support to the MW and PV teams as required.
• Support the MW and PV teams in maintaining relevant sections of the Trial Master File (TMF), ensuring that MW/PV documentation is filed and reviewed appropriately.
• Build good working relationships with key functions in the CDD to ensure timely delivery of documents.
• Organise and participate in meetings with both internal and external groups, taking minutes as requested.
• Develop and maintain an awareness of the main clinical development activities, in particular those related to the QRPV and BMW departments.
• Develop and maintain an awareness of CDD clinical trials and key projects.
• Support other functions in the CDD with administrative tasks where appropriate.

Pharmacovigilance:

• Assist with processing of serious adverse event (SAE) reports in the pharmacovigilance database according to CDD standard operating procedures, including obtaining follow-up information when applicable.
• Support the preparation of Development Safety Update Reports (DSURs) as required.
• Contribute to the ongoing safety evaluation process for the identification of safety risks.
• Oversee the tracking of activities performed by PV.
• Other tasks as delegated by the Senior PV Scientist or PV Manager.

Medical writing:

• Manage and track documents required for Clinical Study Report (CSR) and Investigator Brochure (IB) preparation.
• Provide support for the preparation, authoring, review and quality control of CSRs, safety narratives, report appendices, IBs, lay summaries of results, and other documentation as required.
• Other tasks as delegated by the Principal MW or MW Manager.

What are we looking for?

If you’re a motivated life sciences student, with an interest in drug development and oncology clinical trials, then this is your opportunity to gain invaluable experience working within the pharmaceutical sector. You will need to be able to demonstrate:

• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal).
• Ability to confidently communicate with an array of internal and external contacts.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently in an enthusiastic, proactive fashion.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft based packages (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Familiarity with ICH/GCP guidelines would be beneficial but isn’t essential (you will learn in the role).
• Experience working in an office environment would be beneficial but isn’t essential.

Application Information:

Please ensure you meet the following criteria before completing your application form:

• You must be currently studying for an undergraduate degree at university. Your degree course must support a placement year in industry. Applications from graduates or PhD students, or students for whom a placement year is not a part of their degree course, will NOT be considered.
• You should expect to receive a 2:1 or grade B in your year-end results in a science-related degree.
• You should have 3 A levels (or equivalent) grade B and above (preferably one in a biological science).
• You should be able to commence work in July 2027 (the start date is negotiable).
• You should have the right to live and work in the UK without restriction. We cannot consider applications from candidates who require a work permit to work in the UK.

If you meet these requirements, we look forward to receiving your application. Please note that this role is flexible (office-based with an option to partly work from home), and not laboratory-based.

Useful Tips for Applying:

• Read through the whole form first and draft your answers accordingly.
• Complete all sections - do not leave any gaps.
• Check your spelling and grammar.
• Be concise and focused in your answers.
• Tell us how you found out about the scheme.

Applications will be shortlisted for a virtual interview including exercises and a competency interview. A short screening call may precede the main interview.

How to Apply:

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process aligned with our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required but will be viewed only during the interview phase. Please complete the work history section of the online application form and answer screening questions to assess you fairly and objectively.

Organisation Values:

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody our values:

• 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.

These values drive our mission to beat cancer.

Benefits & Culture:

We create a supportive working environment that promotes wellbeing with a generous benefits package and a broad range of career and personal development opportunities. Our policies enhance work-life balance and personal wellbeing.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone belongs and participates in our work. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and cultures, particularly from ethnic minority backgrounds under-represented in our organisation.

Please inform us of any adjustments needed for the application process or to perform at your best during work.