Junior Research Manager - My Cancer Navigator

About the Anticancer Fund

The Anticancer Fund (ACF) is an independent Belgian foundation of public utility aiming at longer and better lives for people with cancer. To do so, it finances innovative clinical research and provides a free, personalised information service, My Cancer Navigator (MCN). Within MCN, –physicians and scientists answer therapy-related questions from people living with cancer and their relatives, empowering them to make evidence-based choices.

Why join us?

• Direct patient impact. Every literature search you conduct and every summary you write informs and supports a real person.

• Room to grow. You will be mentored by senior researchers and medical doctors, with a clear path towards managing your own cases.

• Collaborative culture. Work in a small, supportive team where your ideas for improving MCN – from workflow tweaks to outreach campaigns – can be put into practice quickly.

• Work–life balance. Flexible hours, the option to work from home 2 days per week, and the possibility to work parttime (employment rate between 70 to 100%).

What you will do

During your first year, you will start with shadowing your fellow colleagues of the MCN team and get trained to become an independent Research Manager. Your responsibilities include:

• Conduct evidence searches & prepare cases

o Extract key clinical data from patients’ medical files.

o Run structured literature, guideline, and clinical trial searches (PubMed, Clinicaltrials.gov, UpToDate, etc.) tailored to the questions asked by the patients.

o Record findings in a detailed and accurate manner on our digital platform, MCN Hub.

• Present at the weekly Patient Information Team (PIT) meeting

o Share each case, highlight critical findings, and capture feedback from oncologists and other experts.

• Draft patient-friendly summaries

o Translate complex, scientific evidence into clear, compassionate, and easy to understand language in Dutch, English, or French.

• Respond to ad-hoc scientific queries

o Deliver rapid literature reviews for the ACF Board or external partners when urgent questions arise.

As you progress, you will take full ownership of the research part of patient cases in collaboration with the MCN Physicians who are in contact with the patients themselves. You will also be managing your personal caseload, liaising directly with our experts. If desired and depending on the needs of the organisation, you might receive hands-on project-management training and become gradually involved in other projects of the Anticancer Fund or take on more responsibilities like representing MCN at conferences, webinars, mentor trainees/students, write blogs on patient-related topics…

The profile we’re looking for

• Degree: Master in Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine or similar.

• Evidence-based mindset: you know how to frame a clinical question, run systematic searches and assess evidence quality.

• Analytical clarity: able to digest large bodies of literature without getting lost in the details and summarize into the points that matter for a specific patient.

• Languages: professional proficiency in English; French and/or Dutch are an asset.

• Soft skills: empathy, collaborative spirit, and the ability to explain science to non-specialists.

• Eligible to work in Belgium – we cannot sponsor visas or relocate candidates.

What we offer

• Competitive non-profit salary.

• Meal vouchers, group & hospitalisation insurance, reimbursement of public-transport costs or bicycle allowance.

• When working fulltime, you have 20 legal holidays, 12 additional days (40h work week), 2 bridge days and a seniority day after 5 years.

• A warm and welcoming environment.

• Modern offices in green surroundings (next to Plantentuin Meise) plus remote-working tools.

Ready to apply?

Send your CV and motivation letter to jobs@anticancerfund.org with subject line “Junior Research Manager – MCN”.

We look forward to meeting the next colleague who will help cancer patients navigate their journey with knowledge and confidence.