Apprenticeships at ICR
At The Institute of Cancer Research, we currently have apprenticeship programmes in both our research teams as alternative entry routes into technical talent pipeline and within our professional services team such as Digital Services and Finance.
Our Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship Programme
Our Laboratory Technician apprenticeship scheme is part of a national initiative to strengthen and promote career development for scientific research technicians – made possible by a £1m grant from Wellcome that was awarded to The Institute of Cancer Research in September 2023. The programme aims to address challenges in recruitment, development, and retention of technicians, increase diversity by promoting apprenticeships to underrepresented groups, and improve the recognition of the technician career path in academia. This programme, delivered in partnership with Tiro, has been recognized with the Education and Training Award at the UK Pharma Industry Awards.
Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
“We’re honoured our new apprenticeship programme, working with Tiro, has been given this award. Technicians make a significant and highly valued contribution to the ICR’s world-leading research to defeat cancer. We are fully committed to ensuring that their work is recognised, and that technicians are supported to achieve their full potential.
“This success has been made possible by the major grant from Wellcome that we secured last year – we were delighted to receive it so we could build a national initiative around technician development. The grant is already helping us to recruit and nurture brilliant people from diverse backgrounds and share what we learn with other research institutes and higher education institutions, so we can continue to build a positive research culture and benefit technicians at the ICR and beyond.”
Dr Aline Tabib-Salazar, Technician Career Pathways Programme Manager at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved in the first year of funding and it’s extremely encouraging that the apprenticeship programme we’ve developed with Tiro has been recognised with this prestigious award. But there’s much more to do – it will be a busy year as we look to build on the success we’ve had so far and crucially, help grow the programme into an established national initiative.”
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Scientific Apprenticeship Conference - Building a Sustainable Technical Pipeline: Apprenticeships in Research
Dissemination of learnings and sharing resources with the sector was a key point in our Wellcome award. To achieve this, we are hosting a scientific apprenticeship conference at Wellcome Collection, London on 15th May 2025.
Scientific Apprenticeship Conference Report
On 15 May, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) hosted a sector-wide conference as part of its £1 million Wellcome Research Culture Award, bringing together 60 delegates from 34 organisations across academia, industry, and policy to explore the transformative role of scientific apprenticeships. The event highlighted how apprenticeships can address technical skill shortages, diversify the research workforce, enhance institutional reputation, and promote social mobility by creating opportunities for underrepresented groups. To build on this momentum, participants emphasised the need for clear post-apprenticeship pathways, standardised job roles, skills-focused recruitment, strong mentoring networks, and cross-sector collaboration to drive meaningful policy reform and embed apprenticeships into the fabric of research culture. To find out more, please see our full report.
Professional Services Apprenticeships
We also offer apprenticeships in our professional services teams, tailored to meet the needs of a research organisation. These roles provide valuable experience and training in various areas:
- Digital Services (IT): Our Digital Services Directorate ensures that everyone at ICR has access to the technology they need. Apprenticeships in this team involve working on the IT Helpdesk, dealing with a wide range of customer requests while studying for a Level 3 Information communications technician qualification. They provide comprehensive support, including hands-on technical training and personal development. Apprentices gain exposure to various aspects of digital services, enhancing their understanding of how different functions interconnect. They also receive guidance on problem-solving and career clarity through diverse team rotations. This broad experience helps them build a professional network and develop adaptability in the evolving digital industry. These roles are based in our Helpdesk teams at London Chelsea and Sutton.
- Finance: Our Finance Team, primarily based at Chelsea, employs apprentices in entry-level roles, supporting them to study for apprenticeship qualifications while working. This team is experienced in dealing with research grants and provides essential support to our research community.
Join Us
Details of current apprenticeship vacancies in these and other research-supporting roles are advertised on our website. We are committed to nurturing talent and providing opportunities for professional growth within our organization.
Vacancies at the ICR
Prospect Research Manager
About the Role Our Prospect Research team plays a central role in unlocking new funding opportunities across the ICR's philanthropic income streams. It is responsible for delivering high quality, insightful prospect briefings and fundraising intelligence, which supports the ICR's fundraisers in their efforts to build meaningful relationships with philanthropic high net-worth individuals, trusts, foundations and corporates who have the interest and capacity to support the ICR's vital research. The post holder will play a key role in supporting the Development & Communications directorate to source, assess and validate new funding opportunities, maximise income secured across our philanthropic income streams and fundraising campaign, and grow our incredible donor community. The successful candidate will have experience of devising and successfully implementing targeted prospecting strategies. You will play a lead role in identifying philanthropic HNWIs and corporates with the capacity and inclination to support our work. The post holder will also be responsible for carrying out due diligence research and alerting fundraisers to reputational risks identified in support of the ICR's gift acceptance policy. You will work closely with the Head of Prospect Development to support fundraisers in maximising the success of our senior volunteer network through network mapping and expanding its ranks. In addition, the post holder will manage the Prospect Research Executive, providing development and mentoring support. What We Offer A supportive and collaborative working environment. Opportunities for professional development and career progression. Competitive salary and pension We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Caroline Porter via telephone on 020 7153 5486 or email at [email protected].
Health Economist
Under the guidance of Cancer Technology Catalyst team lead Dr Patrick Kierkegaard, we are seeking to recruit a Health Economist to pioneer evaluations at the CRUK Convergence Science Centre. Based in South Kensington, London, with travel to partner sites (The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, ICR Sutton, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust). The successful candidate will lead early-stage health economic modelling and health technology assessment (HTA) for cutting-edge oncology innovations, including precision drugs, diagnostics, treatments, clinical guidelines, and digital health technologies (DHTs). Department/Directorate Information The Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre (CSC) is a partnership between Imperial College London and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) with funding from Cancer Research UK. Convergence research is driven by a societal need and utilises a deep integration across disciplines. Professor Axel Behrens is the Scientific Director of the CRUK Convergence Science Centre. This position of Health Economist is integrated within our Cancer Technology Catalyst team (CTC). The CTC is an initiative designed to expedite the journey of promising cancer technologies from concept to clinical impact. Led by a diverse team of experts, the CTC is committed to unlocking the full potential of innovative solutions and addressing the challenges inherent in bringing them to patients. By harnessing a collaborative Team Science approach, the CTC works closely with Principal Investigators and their teams to develop comprehensive evidence packages that not only inform robust value propositions for cancer technologies, but also strategically position them for successful clinical integration. About you Please see the attached job description for essential skills and qualifications for this role, and further information. What we offer A dynamic and supportive research environment Access to state-of-the-art facilities and professional development opportunities Collaboration with leading researchers in the field Competitive salary and pension We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Patrick Kierkegaard via [email protected].
Higher Scientific Officer (bioinformatician)
Under the guidance of Prof Anguraj Sadanandam, we are seeking to recruit a Bioinformatician (Senior Scientific Officer) to contribute to implementing and performing relevant analyses, interpreting the results in context of fast-moving projects, and presenting the results to project teams as well as internal and external collaborators and contribute, with the expectation of authorship on resulting publications. There will also be opportunities to engage in bench-based experimental research, although this is not mandatory. The successful candidate will play a key role in analysing RNAseq data (bulk, single-cell, spatial), developing methodologies and supporting research activities. About you The successful candidate must have: Master’s degree in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, or related subject Proven experience of bioinformatics analyses and interpretation in one or more of the following key areas (NGS analysis of WES/WGS/RNAseq (bulk, single-cell) using standard practice pipelines; Clinical data analysis (Survival curves, correlation and subgroup analysis) Proven experience in the development of software pipelines to implement analysis workflow Proven experience in use of High Performance Computing platforms and unix-like operating systems Proven experience of writing and maintaining Python, R and Bash code using Git Department/Directorate Information The Division of Molecular Pathology conducts translational research linking molecular science to clinical oncology. The group of Dr Anguraj Sadanandam focuses on cancer metabolism and tumour subtypes, particularly in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Using integrative multi-omics approaches — including scRNAseq, spatial transcriptomics, bulk RNAseq, metabolomics (LC-MS), CNV, and WES — combined with cell culture and genetically engineered mouse models, we aim to define tumour heterogeneity and identify new therapeutic opportunities. The successful candidate will work under multidisciplinary supervision: for clinical and biological questions, guidance will be provided by Dr Christophe Cisarovsky, Clinical Oncologist in the GI clinic at The Royal Marsden Hospital and MD-PhD, together with Group Leader Prof Anguraj Sadanandam; for technical and bioinformatics questions, supervision will be provided by Prof Anguraj Sadanandam and members of his bioinformatics team. The candidate will primarily perform bioinformatic analyses and contribute to fast-moving projects with the expectation of authorship on resulting publications. There will also be opportunities to engage in bench-based experimental research, although this is not mandatory. https://www.icr.ac.uk/research-and-discoveries/find-a-researcher/test-researcher-profile-detail/dr-anguraj-sadanandam What we offer A dynamic and supportive research environment Access to state-of-the-art facilities and professional development opportunities Collaboration with leading researchers in the field Competitive salary and pension We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Christophe Cisarovsky via Email on [email protected].
Scientific Computing Apprentice (Research Software Engineering)
This Master’s degree level apprenticeship will see you developing, maintaining, and optimising the software and computational tools that that support and advance scientific research. The role is ideal for a proactive and motivated individual with a passion for scientific computing and an interest in research software engineering, wishing to work and learn in a diverse research community. This opportunity provides a great way to build your career. Fully-Funded Master’s Degree: We'll cover 100% of your master’s degree, allowing you to earn a postgraduate qualification without the financial burden. Real-World Impact: You'll be working at the forefront of cancer research, with your work directly supporting our scientists and clinicians Comprehensive Training: You'll get the best of both worlds, a structured Master's curriculum combined with hands-on, real-world training. Department/Directorate Information The Digital Services Directorate ensures that everyone at the ICR has access to the technology they need to do their jobs effectively including providing specialist IT support to the ICR’s research community. Scientific Computing is one of three Units within Digital Services and provides a number of key services to researchers across the ICR, including High Performance Computing (HPC), Research Data Storage (RDS), Research Data Management (RDM) and Research Software Engineering (RSE). We encourage all applicants to access the job pack attached for more detailed information regarding this role. Please also see : MSc Applied Data Science (Degree Apprenticeship) | University of Buckingham for further information. For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Rachel Alcraft via Telephone/Email on 020 3437 3533 or [email protected].