Join us

We are looking for committed, passionate people who want to make a difference in the NHS and tackle cancer by sharing best practice and new ideas, passing on the latest learning in medical innovations and management techniques.

You may be degree educated, but some roles don’t require it, and although everything we do is for patients, their families, carers or the public, everyone contributes in different ways and people join us at all stage of life.

You could be working with teams across many different programmes and be involved in a number of exciting projects and initiatives – liaising with experts in the field, or the public through community outreach.

You may also be supporting our recently launched learning platform for cancer health professionals – The Cancer Academy. The Cancer Academy brings ‘excellence in cancer education’ to people working in cancer treatment, care and planning in a healthcare or community setting.

Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) co-ordinates, leads and drives improvements in cancer services and care right across our area.

We welcome new colleagues from inside and outside the health sector who want to be part of our ambitious team with a mission to deliver the NHS’s commitment to improving outcomes for everyone touched by cancer.

We work closely with clinicians, patients and partner organisations to achieve:

• Better Cancer Services, by providing access to expertise and learning; leading change in care pathways and in piloting new scientific innovations.
• Better Cancer Care, by sharing best practice and building on good patient experience.
• Better Cancer Outcomes, by increasing early detection and diagnosis, enabling swift access to cancer services and pathways, ensuring cancer patients have the support they need to live long fulfilling lives beyond cancer.

We have more than 60 colleagues working in the Cancer Alliance and our staff surveys show our team has the highest satisfaction rating in our Trust – which itself has higher scores than the national average.

That is because we work hard to make sure our team members have an excellent work/life balance, with blended, flexible or home working as an option. We also have excellent office accommodation in central Liverpool and at our base in Wirral.

Our HQ in Liverpool is in The Spine, attractive new office space in the heart of the city’s Knowledge Quarter, next to the universities and Clatterbridge’s new, state-of-the-art cancer hospital.

We arrange regular ‘away days’ where team members – many of whom work from home – can meet up and get to know each other, learn about different projects and celebrate our successes. We also have a dedicated team to help support colleagues in the work they do, and hold ‘team huddle’ sessions, walks and social activities.

Being part of the Cancer Alliance is a career very much within the NHS, with all the training and advancement that working for a great employer brings – not to mention progression pay and leave entitlement, an excellent pension and NHS staff discounts. Clatterbridge itself also has a host of opportunities to become involved in career progression and events staged by the Trust and Clatterbridge Cancer Charity.

The work can be challenging but is hugely rewarding and we – and your colleagues – will be with you every step of the way.

Here are some of the views from our Cancer Alliance colleagues...

"The job is extremely rewarding and can go towards changing a person’s experience for the better, during a scary time. I am lucky to have such friendly, supportive colleagues. When we work together we achieve great things."

"I never thought I’d work in healthcare, but it’s great to feel I am contributing to improving the lives of the many people who are affected by cancer in Cheshire and Merseyside."

"I really enjoy working for the Alliance as my job role is interesting, challenging and diverse – and my colleagues are all supportive and friendly."

"We can save more lives. That’s what gets me out of bed every morning and why I love working for the Cancer Alliance."

"I learn something new each day. Working for the Cancer Alliance is so rewarding – you feel you are making a real difference to real people. There are lots of opportunities to help in a variety of project areas."

Our Cancer Alliance colleagues are happy to talk about their positive experiences of working with us…

Meg Hayes – Project Manager

Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance has a proud record of supporting our colleagues to achieve their career goals – giving them the help they need to fulfil their potential, no matter what their starting point.

Meg Hayes is a highly valued member of the Cancer Alliance team who joined as an admin support officer shortly after the organisation was launched.

After just a few years, she has progressed to a Project Manager position in the Personalised Care and Prevention, Early Detection team, responsible for delivering new ways of working across Cheshire and Merseyside. Ultimately, her work helps to improve the experience that patients and their loved ones encounter in the NHS during and after treatment.

“I am so happy that I joined the Cancer Alliance,” said Meg. “Everybody has been so supportive and encouraging and has given me the confidence to push myself to apply for the role I am doing now.

“I did not think I would have the skills to get this job without going to university but it turns out that my experience of nearly 15 years working within cancer and developing trusted relationships – and all the hard work and constantly striving to be better – got me the job.”

When Meg arrived at the Cancer Alliance in May 2018, she joined in a Band 4 support role but rose three NHS pay levels to be a manager in just four years.

It was not what she had planned for. “I started at the Cancer Alliance after being made redundant from Wirral Hospice St John’s where I had worked for 10 years, with no plans on ever leaving, really,” she said.

“But when I arrived at the Cancer Alliance I had the opportunity to support lots of teams across the organisation and attend meetings throughout the region. This gave me such a good understanding of the work going on across all of our programmes and what the Cancer Alliance’s objectives are. I was also able to build relationships face-to-face with numerous clinicians across the region.

“Over the next few years I worked up the banding structure with roles that gave me more responsibility, which increased my self-confidence. My line managers really believed in me and gave me the confidence to believe in the experience and knowledge I had built up at the Cancer Alliance.

“I am so grateful for the support and belief all my line managers had in me, especially when I didn’t have that within myself.

“Now, I am a project manager working in a programme I am confident in. I strive to make a difference for patients following their cancer treatment to ensure they feel empowered and protected and taken care of, to ensure they have the best quality of life long after their cancer treatment.”

Meg, who is a mum of two children, Pippa (10) and Ben (8), is able to fit her parenting duties in with her work, as it can done mainly from home.

“I would really recommend the Cancer Alliance as a place to work,” said Meg. “What we do is so rewarding and impactful, and you will be well supported in whatever direction you want to go in.”

Katie Lawson – PMO Lead

Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance has welcomed new team members from across the NHS and beyond.

Katie Lawson joined the Cancer Alliance from a specialist NHS trust and quickly found that the organisation was a place where she could develop fresh skills and take on new responsibilities.

Katie joined the Cancer Alliance in November 2020, originally on secondment as PMO and Information Officer, helping to establish formal processes for the management of projects across all its teams.

With the increasing number of complex projects and programmes aiming to improve cancer treatment and care right across Cheshire and Merseyside, Katie’s role was to help embed new ways of working to support everyone in the Cancer Alliance.

Project management was an area that Katie had not worked in before but quickly found her feet with support from her new colleagues – and within a few years rose to become PMO Lead, driving the implementation of important ways to ensure consistency, efficiency and governance in all Cancer Alliance projects.

Katie said: “Although I had plenty of planning and organisational skills, I had never worked in project management before and was very nervous about taking on this new role, which at the time I felt I had little knowledge of.

“However, the support from the team was incredible and I very quickly felt part of a team and was inspired daily by my colleagues, who are so passionate about their individual projects and the difference they make to cancer services in Cheshire and Merseyside.

“Since then, I have been lucky to have so many different opportunities at the Cancer Alliance, including learning a new project management system and working with the team to train people up to use it.

“I’ve also become a line manager, developed new processes, worked on events, been heavily involved in recruitment and inductions of new staff and organised and led training sessions.

“All these opportunities have given me the experience and confidence to be able to progress in my career and I am now the PMO Lead at CMCA and also manage the admin team.”

Although the Cancer Alliance has grown (and will grow further) over the recent years, Katie is still able to form close working relationships with colleagues across the different teams.

She said: “The best thing about working at CMCA is the people. Being in the PMO team means that I get to work with almost every single member of the Cancer Alliance, and everyone is always willing to go above and beyond to support each other and share ideas.”

Hybrid working is the norm at the Cancer Alliance, with many people working at home most of the time – and there is a great deal of flexibility built in to where and when people log on. But Katie says that remote working does not mean she feels out on a limb, without support when she needs it – or a reduction in teamwork.

She said: “Even though, we mostly work from home, remote working has not hindered the rapport across the team and I feel privileged to know and work with such passionate people.”