Job Introduction
Staffordshire County Council and Stoke City Council are seeking to appoint a new full-time Area Coroner. This is a new post.
Currently the areas of the Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Councils have separate coroner areas (i.e., Staffordshire South and North Staffordshire and Stoke respectively) but the Councils are seeking a merger of the two areas.
The appointment of the Area Coroner will therefore be to both areas, pending and subject to the making of the necessary statutory instrument to merge the two areas. Prior to the merger as the vacancy is in Staffordshire South, it will be Staffordshire County Council leading the recruitment
Main Responsibility
The Area Coroner will work closely with the 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 on occasion to be available out of hours on a rota based system.
Staffordshire County Council and Stoke City Council are 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 managers to ensure value for money, performance and financial efficiencies. Collaborative working with the senior coroner, local authority, the police and other stakeholders is essential.
Candidates 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. Candidates 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.
The Ideal Candidate
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 75, 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 75 years (compulsory retirement age) unless they choose to resign or are removed by the Lord Chief Justice or Lord Chancellor prior to their 75th birthday.
How to apply:
Please review the candidate pack below before making an application
If you wish to have an informal discussion or arrange a visit, please contact Mark Wilson at mark.wilson@staffordshire.gov.uk
Suitably qualified applicants are requested to email their CV and their supporting statement to mark.wilson@staffordshire.gov.uk
Interviews will take place week commencing 17 July and 24 July 2023
Notification
The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute).
About Staffordshire County Council
We are no ordinary county council:
Our Values:
The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.
Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:
We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.
We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.
Our benefits:
We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to a range of benefits.
Our recruitment process:
As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities
As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Silver Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.
