coroner's officer

Job Title: Coroner's Officer
Location: The Old Courthouse, Hatfield
Salary Range: £30,151 with the opportunity to progress to a maximum of £32,909 per annum
Hours: 37 per week
Contract: Permanent

Diversity: We are an inclusive employer and value a diverse workforce

Job Duties:

Hertfordshire County Council is a leading local authority with a highly regarded Coroner service. This is your chance to be part of a busy team that is flexible, responds quickly to change and is never complacent.

The Hertfordshire Coroner Service operates from The Old Courthouse, Hatfield. Last year the service dealt with 3,000 reported deaths with approximately 400 of these deaths requiring an Inquest.

You will be working for the Hertfordshire Coroner Service within the Democratic & Statutory Services directorate under Legal Service within Resources.

You will be required to work as part of a busy but dynamic team to represent the interests of HM Coroner for Hertfordshire by providing an investigative service and assisting in the execution of the Coroner’s legal and public protection duties, in accordance with the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Responsibilities also include:

• To receive information of sudden, violent, suspicious, or unnatural deaths for which no death certificate has been issued. Assess, analyse and make recommendations to the Coroner as to the appropriate action, in accordance with the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
• Establish contact with relatives of the deceased and their representatives and keep them informed of procedures and progress
• To investigate causes of death by obtaining written statements and collating and assembling evidence from Police Officers, Medics, Health and Safety Inspectors and other authorities
• Arrange for removal of the body by following the Coroners’ procedure
• Arrange for identification of the deceased and ensure that the property of the deceased is dealt with
• To arrange Post-Mortems as required and ensure that the body is released to the appropriate party as soon as possible
• Be prepared to attend post mortems when required
• To work with the Support Officers to ensure inquests are organised
• To attend the scene of major incidents / multiple fatalities to represent HM Coroner
• To ensure that deaths involving UK citizens abroad are investigated correctly when the body arrives within the Coroner’s jurisdiction
• To arrange for deaths involving the transport of bodies from England and Wales to be dealt with as efficiently as possible
• To present training sessions on the work of the Coroner Service to Probationer Police Officers, Health Service workers and other organisations including 'Cruise Bereavement Care’
• To monitor the compliance of contractors to the Mortuary Services and Body Removal contracts
• To fully contribute to the Quality Management System and the continual improvement of service delivery

The Coroner Service aims to always put the bereaved at the heart of its service.

A Coroner’s Officer is responsible for managing their own workload so they can deliver their cases to the bereaved in a timely manner.

They do this by receiving information of sudden, violent, suspicious or unnatural deaths for which no death certificate has been issued and assessing and analysing this information and make recommendations to the Coroner as to the appropriate action, in accordance with the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Establish contact with relatives of the deceased and their representatives and keep them informed of procedures and progress.

Manage own caseload in a professional and timely manner in line with service plan targets.

Ensure all work is produced to a high professional standard with high levels of accuracy and clear presentation.

Technical, skills and qualifications required for the role:

We will need you to have a proven track record of demonstrating excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a track record of delivering excellent customer service and be able to ensure work is carried out to a high standard with agreed performance levels. You must be able to work as part of a team and have analytical and investigative skills and planning and organising skills. You’ll be competent in Microsoft packages and have excellent IT skills and administration experience.

Hertfordshire County Council is an equal opportunity employer that strives to deliver excellent customer service by taking a dynamic and flexible approach to service delivery.

If you are successfully appointed you will be joining a very busy service and dynamic team that works hard to ensure the bereaved remain at the heart of the service at a time when they are at their most vulnerable due to the death of a loved one.

Closing Date: Monday 19th June 2023
Interview Date: Wednesday 19th & Thursday 20th July 2023