Assistant Coroner

Gloucestershire County Council is seeking to appoint up to two (2) new Assistant Coroners to support the Senior Coroner across the full range of coroner duties in order to deliver a high-quality coroner service to the people of Gloucestershire.

About the post:

Gloucestershire County Council is looking for exceptional candidates with excellent proven organisational, management and efficiency skills, as well as experience of managing and embracing change. You will work closely with the Senior Coroner to ensure value for money, performance and financial efficiencies.

You will be required to demonstrate knowledge and experience of coroner law and of basic medicine, have proven skills in conducting investigations and an understanding of court procedure. You will also need to demonstrate the excellent communication and interpersonal skills necessary to deal with sensitive situations.

The successful candidate will be required to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a coroner as defined in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and associated rules and regulations and as further described in various guidance issued by the Chief Coroner.

This is a fee paid position although it is likely to involve a regular commitment, which is to be agreed between you, the senior coroner, and the local authority.

It is a Coroner's personal responsibility (and not that of his/her clerk/secretary) to ensure that they sit when possible. The Chief Coroner and the Lord Chancellor would expect an assistant coroner to offer a minimum of 20 sitting days each financial year. However, it is recognised that there is a variance of workload in each area.

The Assistant Coroner will be based in the dedicated court and coroner's office at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court, Corinium Avenue, Barnwood, Gloucester. Office opening hours are 9am-5pm., The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute).

The successful candidate will be a barrister or a solicitor or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives and satisfy the judicial-appointment eligibility condition which means they will have 5 years of experience whilst holding that qualification. They will be under the age of 75 and be subject to the appointment and eligibility conditions within the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (s.23 and Schedule 3)., We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire's diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a 'customer facing role' must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.

Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.

Salary - fee paid, £457 per day [in line with the JNC Coroners Circular 68]