Area Coroner For Manchester West
Salary £105,601 pa including statutory out of hours payment
Closing date: 5pm Monday 3rd January 2022
About the post:
Bolton Council the relevant Local authority for the Manchester West Coroner Area, is seeking to appoint a second Area 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 second Area Coroner will work closely with the existing Area Coroner and Senior Coroner to provide judicial leadership to the coroner team as well as conducting their own coroner investigations and inquests.
The Area Coroner is the nominated deputy for the Senior Coroner when the Senior Coroner is absent. The Area Coroner will be expected to be available out of hours on a rota-based system.
The Coroners are 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 2020 there were 3434 deaths reported and we expect to have undertaken between 600 – 700 inquests by the end of 2021.
Bolton Council is looking for an exceptional candidate with excellent proven, organisational, management and efficiency skills, as well as experience of exercising sound judgement and communicating effectively. In this role, you will work closely with the Senior Coroner and local authority manager to ensure value for money, performance, and financial efficiencies. Collaborative working with the Senior Coroner, 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 running a coroner’s jurisdiction including carrying out investigations, case management, and conducting inquests.
Who can apply:
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 five years of experience whilst holding that qualification. They will be under the age of 70, have experience of working as an assistant coroner or area coroner and be subject to the appointment and eligibility conditions within the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (s.23 and Schedule 3).
Statutory Terms of the Appointment:
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 Area 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.
How to apply:
Suitably qualified applicants are requested to apply through www.greater.jobs which will require completion of a short application form and an upload of their CV, with a supporting statement addressing all 23 points of the personnel specification in full.
Please refer to the attached candidate pack.
If you wish to have an informal discussion or arrange a visit, please contact Gary Broome, First Officer on 01204 338794.
Closing date: 5pm Monday 3rd January 2022
Interview & Assessment dates:
Stage 1 Assessments: Tuesday 25th January 2022
Castle Hill Centre, Castleton St, Bolton BL2 2JW
Stage 2 Appointment Interviews: Wednesday 26th January 2022
(only successful candidates from day 1 will proceed to day 2)
Bolton Town Hall, Bolton BL1 1RU
Notification: The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute).