Senior Coroner for Manchester West
Salary £132,600 pa including statutory out of hours payment
plus, a non-statutory out of hours allowance (to be agreed)
Bolton Council is the relevant Local authority for the Manchester West coroner area. The Senior Coroner is supported by Coroner’s Officers who are employed by Bolton Council and Police Coroner’s Officers who are employed by Greater Manchester Police and are co-located in the coroner’s office.
Manchester West is an area of high complexity, including a number of hospital trusts, HM prisons, mental health institutions and private care homes. It is a very busy and challenging area. In 2018 there were 4,140 deaths reported and 577 inquests concluded within an average time of 21 weeks.
Bolton Council is seeking to appoint a new Senior Coroner to provide a statutory coroner service for the area of Manchester West, which includes the local council boroughs of Bolton, Salford, Wigan and Leigh. The service is funded by Bolton, Salford, Wigan and Leigh councils with Bolton Council as the lead authority.
The Senior Coroner stands at the head of the local coroner service and statutory coroner area and takes the lead on coroner work and will be expected to conduct inquests which are difficult or complex or will be likely to attract significant publicity.
Bolton Council is looking for an exceptional candidate with excellent proven leadership, organisational, management and efficiency skills, as well as experience of managing and embracing change. You will work closely with the local authority Borough Solicitor and First Officer to ensure value for money, performance and financial efficiencies. Collaborative working with the local authority, the Police and other stakeholders is essential.
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.
It is desirable that the successful candidate has proven experience of running or sharing the running of a coroner’s jurisdiction including carrying out investigations, case management, conducting inquests, and the management of a coroner’s office.
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 on a 5-year basis. They will be under the age of 70, have experience of working as a Senior Coroner, Area Coroner or Assistant Coroner and be subject to the appointment and eligibility conditions within the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (s.23 and Schedule 3).
Once a Coroner is appointed, they are then a Judicial Office holder until they reach the age of 70 years (compulsory retirement age) unless they choose to resign or are removed by the Lord Chief Justice or Lord Chancellor prior to their 70th birthday.
The out of hours payment for non-statutory duties is in addition to the salary and dependent on availability is by agreement.
The Senior Coroner will be based in the dedicated court and coroner’s office in Paderborn House, Howell Croft North, Bolton BL1 1QY. Office opening hours are 8.30am - 4.00pm.
Please see enclosed Candidate pack for further details.
If you wish to have an informal discussion or arrange a visit, please contact Gary Broome, First Officer on 01204 338794.
Suitably qualified applicants are requested to email their CV and full supporting statement addressing the personnel specification to: Neeta Graham, HR Business Partner - neeta.graham@bolton.gov.uk
Closing date: Monday 10th February 2020 at 12 noon. Interview & Assessment dates: 11th and 12th March 2020
The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute).