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