Vacancies

Sales and Marketing Assistant

Location: Buckingham, UK

Company Overview and Job Purpose

This opportunity is ideal for an ambitious school leaver with an interest in the Life Sciences industry. While learning on the job and earning a salary, you will also work towards a BSc in Life Sciences and Business Management - fully funded by Caltag. The role is highly varied, offering opportunities to travel and continuously learn about the latest advances in life sciences, diagnostics and the pharmaceutical industry.

  • Fully funded degree (no tuition fees)
  • Paid salary from day one
  • Real-world business experience
  • Travel opportunities
  • Mentorship from experienced professionals

Progress within the company

As the successful candidate, you will work alongside experienced Marketing staff and Sales Managers in a small, friendly team, gaining hands-on experience across multiple areas of the business. You will help drive sales by assisting the team to deliver exceptional customer service and maintain supplier relations.

Caltag was incorporated in March 2001 as a life science distributor serving the diagnostic and research markets in the UK and Europe. Our focus is on delivering excellent customer service while working with leading suppliers at the forefront of medical research. In 2025, Caltag became an employee-owned business, meaning employees participate in major decisions and the company is run for the benefit of its people rather than shareholders.

The Role

You will:

  • Learn how to drive sales through targeted marketing for a portfolio of key suppliers.
  • Assist with tasks to provide outstanding service in response to customer enquiries.
  • Understand how to create marketing campaigns, including writing and designing marketing materials, generating promotional ideas and proofreading content and monitoring statistics.
  • Assist with the maintenance of the company website and social media channels, ensuring information is current and promotions are visible.
  • Support the team at exhibitions and conferences, including researching opportunities, preparing materials and attending events.
  • Support the management of supplier relationships, keeping up to date with the latest product information, participating in training and joining discussions.
  • Learn how our products are sold internationally by helping manage a network of distributors world-wide.
  • Help identify potential new suppliers by monitoring industry news, attending conferences and responding to customer demand.
  • Contribute to the maintenance of our customer database (CRM) and identify new customer contacts.
  • Monitor competitor activity and conduct market research.
  • Undertake any other duties as specified by your line manager.

Candidate Attributes

We are looking for a motivated school leaver with strong A-Level results who wants to get great work experience and earn a degree without accumulating student debt. You will need to learn quickly, communicate confidently and be willing to get involved in all areas of the business.

You will likely possess the following:

  • A-Levels in Biology (essential) and ideally Business Studies, English or Mathematics
  • Strong communication skills and confidence engaging with colleagues, customers and suppliers worldwide
  • High levels of motivation and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team
  • Creativity and the ability to generate innovative marketing ideas
  • Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office applications and familiarity with databases or design software
  • Strong numeracy and literacy skills
  • Familiarity with major social media platforms
  • A clean UK driving licence and access to a car (or will be driving soon)

This role is for 30 hours per week based at our office in Buckingham. Your studies will be conducted remotely with The Open University (course list below) which requires a commitment of around 16 hours per week. It will take a total of 6 years to complete the course. During this period we will arrange a schedule that fits around your studies and work commitments.

OU Level 1 – Certificate of Higher Education:

  • Human biology: a body in balance (SK190)
  • An introduction to business and management (B100)

OU Level 2 – Diploma of Higher Education:

  • Shaping business opportunities (B207)
  • Cell and molecular biology (S296)
  • Investigative approaches in biology and chemistry (S285)

OU Level 3 – Bachelors/Honours degree:

  • Marketing in action (B328)
  • Biological science: from genes to species (S317)

Plus choose one of:

  • Creating futures: sustainable enterprise and innovation (B327)
  • Science project module: biology (SXB390)

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