Assistant Practitioner - Breast Research

Royal Marsden; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in Chelsea is seeking an Assistant Practitioner for the Breast Research Team. Based in Chelsea, you will support the research nursing team on both new and existing studies as part of a multidisciplinary unit.

The role involves working under supervision to deliver clinical and research care, processing samples, and contributing to high-quality patient care while supporting ongoing long-term trials within a world-leading cancer centre.

Qualifications

• Life sciences degree or relevant experience.
• Recent GCP training.
• Higher Degree qualification (e.g. MSc).

Responsibilities

• Support Registered Nurses in patient care under supervision.
• Handle tissue samples and survival follow-up of long-term clinical trials.
• Provide clerical, clinical and sample processing support.
• Maintain a safe environment for patients and staff.
• Assist with monitoring vital signs and basic measurements.

Skills

Prioritise workload

Interpersonal skills

Team collaboration

Clinical documentation

Education

Life sciences degree or relevant experience

Recent GCP training

Higher Degree (e.g. MSc)

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Assistant Practitioner - Breast Research

NHS AfC: Band 4

Main area Breast Research Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract 11 months (Fixed term) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 282-CR1857

Employer The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Marsden Hospital Chelsea Town Chelsea Salary £34,186 - £37,389 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 16/09/2026 08:00

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Practitioner within the Breast Research Team at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The post holder will be based in Chelsea.

The Royal Marsden is a world leader in cancer research, treatment, and education. Together with our academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), we are the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe and the only National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) specialising in cancer in the UK.

We are looking for enthusiastic and self‑motivated team members to work alongside the Research Nursing team on our new and existing studies contributing to the ground‑breaking research run out of this unit.

Main duties of the job

The Assistant Practitioner is an essential valued member of the unit team appointed to support Registered Nurses (RN) in the delivery of patient care. The role involves contact on a physical and psychological level with patients and their families. The post holder will undertake a range of activities under the supervision of a registered nurse, having been assessed and deemed competent in the activities required.

As part of a multidisciplinary team the post holder will contribute to the efficient service provision by providing clerical, clinical and sample processing support and will take a lead on the handling and storage of tissue samples and survival follow up of long‑term clinical trials.

The post holder will carry out assigned duties under direct and indirect supervision of senior nursing staff, assisting in the provision of routine clinical and research care for research participants. They will also provide, a safe environment for the treatment of patients and protection of staff.

Clinical tasks undertaken by the AP will be within their sphere of competence and in line with trust policies. The research nurse team leader will be responsible for ensuring competency is achieved and maintained and as such clinical tasks to be undertaken will therefore be specific to the clinical area.

Continuous professional development is encouraged. Working as a highly valued member of the MDT, we support further study opportunities.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world‑leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on‑going achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:

These responsibilities will be carried out under the guidance of the research nurse:

• To carry out in a responsible and efficient way, the care for patients which has been drawn up in conjunction with the research team.
• To demonstrate the ability to develop a greater awareness and understanding of the needs of patients with cancer and the different treatment modalities
• As an integral member of the nursing team, work with team members to ensure the maintenance of an efficient, safe, clean, and pleasant environment for all patients.
• Maintain compassion, empathy, dignity, comfort, and sensitivity of patients and their relatives at all times
• Monitor and record patients’ vital signs (including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen saturation) and report any abnormal results to registered nursing staff.
• Measure and record patients’ height and weight
• Perform venous blood sampling

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• Life sciences (or equivalent) degree or relevant experience
• Recent GCP training
• Higher Degree qualification (e.g. MSc)

Experience

• Experience of working in an NHS setting, academic institution, or pharmaceutical company.
• Demonstrable experience of working in a clinical trials setting, or an understanding.
• Detailed knowledge of clinical trials, UK Clinical trial regulations, GCP and regulatory framework.
• Experience of working across boundaries with multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience of working in the field of oncology.
• Experience of working in a laboratory and/or with samples

Skills/Abilities

• Ability to prioritise workload, and adjust own work in light of unexpected events or changing priorities.
• Ability to work effectively to tight deadlines under direction and on own initiative.
• Excellent administrative and organisational skills.
• Excellent IT skills including access, excel and power point.
• Maintain good attention to detail and work with a high level of accuracy.
• Proven problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal & communication skills with the ability to deal effectively with a wide range of people (e.g. medical & nursing staff, managers, admin staff) in a helpful manner.
• Experience of developing systems and processes to allow efficient management and conduct of sample management.

Other Requirements

• Able to work flexibly to meet the needs of the role.
• Able to work in a proactive manner to identify new risks and issues and flag appropriately.
• Willing to travel within the UK and occasionally overseas to attend meetings and conferences.

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient‑facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.