The Institute of Cancer Research, founded in 1909 and widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential cancer research organisations, is seeking a Chief Information Officer (CIO) to lead work on its "entire information systems and data capability including both scientific computing and corporate IT."
The vacancy comes after the ICR opened a new £75 million Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, following a major capital appeal and construction programme. The state-of-the-art building opened in November 2020 and is now home to 21 research teams – working in drug discovery and evolutionary science.
"The CIO will craft and deliver a transformative portfolio of innovative digital projects to underpin the delivery of the Institute’s mission: to make the discoveries that defeat cancer" it said this week.
The Stack is making the Institute of Cancer Research CIO role our Job of the Week.
Institute of Cancer Research CIO role
"We recognise the potential role digital technology will play in enabling the effective groundbreaking research of the future. We now need an innovative and influential senior IT leader to continue the efficient, effective and secure support of the Institute" the ICR said, posting the role on LinkedIn on Friday June 24.
"We are seeking to develop a world leading Digital Services capability to enable our researchers to continue performing world-leading and impactful discovery, translational and clinical research."
(In 2020/21 the ICR had total income of £142 million. Some 9% of its income came from research funding, which grew by £10.4 million compared with 2019/20 despite cuts to several core grants. In addition, 20% of its income came from public funding as a higher education institution, 17% from royalties on its discoveries, 9% from donations and endowments, and 5% from tuition fees, investments and other sources...)
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The charity said of the vacancy: "The CIO will deliver the aligned digital strategy which will provide the efficient, secure information systems suite to enable continued excellence in the ICR’s research; craft and deliver a transformative portfolio of innovative digital projects to underpin the delivery of the Institute’s mission: to make the discoveries that defeat cancer; work closely with our own research population plus our external partners to build positive, collaborative relationships; influence at the national level and build meaningful peer-to-peer relationships across higher education institutions and the clinical research sector to facilitate the transfer of best practice."
The CIO also needs to "shape a high-performing, effective digital services team which will deliver a seamless, robust and efficient digital customer experience operating to the highest levels of service and security."
The Institute of Cancer Research is looking for someone who has held "significant, high-level accountability for mission critical IT systems in a large and complex organisation, preferably in a research-intensive institution or industry... demonstrable experience of delivering improvements in service, efficiency, and the security of mission-critical IT systems" and an "adept relationship-builder with gravitas and a collaborative approach."
Queries are being handled by alex.richardson [at] odgers [dot] com and the preferred method of application is online at www.odgers.com/86284. and close July 23.
