Clinical Trials Secretary / Administrative Assistant

Job overview

An exciting and unique opportunity has arisen to appoint Clinical Trials Secretaries / Administrative Assistants to work in the Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre (CCTC) Clinical Operations Team. 

The CCTC is a collaboration of Cancer Research UK, the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH). The CCTC Clinical Operations team aims to improve the outcome for patients with cancer by delivering cutting edge clinical trials to patients.

Our focus is to provide the highest standards of care to patients and families, and the research we conduct has these same aims. This position will suit a motivated, efficient and enthusiastic individual, and will provide an exciting opportunity to have a positive impact on patient care through ground-breaking research.

This post will provide invaluable support to the team.  You need to be able to work under pressure and to function independently and as part of a research team. You will need the capacity to manage competing demands and the ability to build and maintain working relationships with a variety of different staff.  The post requires excellent organisational skills, a solid background in MS Office – preparing reports in Word, and using Excel for data – being able to use different formulae is essential, as well as ideally some level of experience working in Clinical Research related areas.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities include:

Managing complex administrative tasks including the use of EPIC and other systems such as EDGE.

Coordinating appointments, referrals, meetings, diaries and secure transfer of medical documents.

Handling enquiries from patients and healthcare professionals in a professional and tactful manner.

Producing clinic correspondence, taking meeting minutes.

Supporting trial activity tracking for budget / invoice processing.
Monitoring workload quality and deadlines to ensure departmental standards are met.

Working collaboratively with the wider team to improve service delivery and efficiency.

You will have excellent communication and organisational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt to a fast-paced environment while delivering a friendly and professional service.

Working for our organisation

Our Trust

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. With over 13,000 staff and over 1100 beds the priorities of the Trust focus on a quality service which is all about people – patients, staff and partners. Recognised as providing ‘outstanding’ care to our patients and rated ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commissioner, is testament to the skill and dedication of the people who work here. CUH’s values – Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent – are at the heart of patient care, defining the way all staff work and behave. The Trust provides accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge, together with specialist services, dealing with rare or complex conditions for a regional, national and international population.

CUH is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves. We value our differences and fully advocate and support an inclusive working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential. We want to ensure our people are truly representative of all the communities that we serve. We welcome applications for all positions in the organisation irrespective of people’s age, disability, ethnicity, race, nationality, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity status or social economic background.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

As per Home Office guidelines, please be aware that, unfortunately, the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular position.

The advert will close at midnight on 3 June 2026.

Interviews are due to be held on 10 June 2026. 

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Educated to A level or NVQ level 3 Customer Service / Business Admin / ITQ or equivalent Typing qualification or equivalent experience (if applicable)

Specific technical / professional qualification (if applicable)

Desirable criteria

Secretary qualification or equivalent

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of working in a busy clerical / office environment or Reception service

Secretarial and/or administrative experience including minute taking

Prioritising, planning and organising own tasks

Working within guidelines

Experience of dealing with difficult situations and confrontations

Data entry experience and documentation

Experience of IT packages and databases - Microsoft Office

Experience of producing documents to a high standard

Desirable criteria

Experience of working in NHS

Experience of working with medical records

Experience working in clinical trials

Experience of audit

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Understanding of confidentiality and data protection

Sound knowledge of office procedures

Understanding of customer service

Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of the Trust including awareness of priorities

Knowledge of Trust information systems

Knowledge of Medical Terminology

Awareness of Good Clinical Practice (GCP)

Skills

Essential criteria

Ability to work as part of a team

Excellent communication skills including telephone, email, face to face

Ability to develop templates for letters

Ability to organise and manage own time keeping to schedule and deadlines

Ability to use own initiative and work autonomously

Ability to demonstrate leadership skills

Willing to take on / learn new skills

Ability to show attention to detail and accuracy

Ability to adapt to change

Ability to work under pressure

Ability to store and safeguard confidential documents

Desirable criteria

Ability to touch type

Ability to work with budgets

Ability to requisition general stock

Additional Requirements

Essential criteria

The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Safe, Kind, Excellent.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Rutendo Nyagumbo or Lindsay Piper

Job title

Team Lead

Email address

View email address on careers.cuh.nhs.uk

Telephone number

View phone number on careers.cuh.nhs.uk

Additional information

We welcome informal visits to the CCTC. Please contact Rutendo or Lindsay if you wish to organise a visit or find out more about the role. 

View email address on careers.cuh.nhs.uk

View email address on careers.cuh.nhs.uk 

View email address on careers.cuh.nhs.uk