Assistant Coroner

Surrey County Council is seeking to appoint four new Assistant Coroners to support the Senior and Area coroner across the full range of coroner duties in order to deliver a high-quality coroner service to the people of Surrey.

Surrey County Council is looking for exceptional candidates with excellent proven organisational, management and efficiency skills, as well as experience of exercising sound judgement and communicating effectively. You will work closely with the Senior Coroner and Area Coroner to ensure value for money, performance and financial efficiencies.

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.

The successful candidates will be required to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a coroner as defined in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and associated rules and regulations and as further described in various guidance issued by the Chief Coroner.

These are fee paid positions although they are likely to involve a significant regular commitment, which is to be agreed between the Senior and Area Coroners.

It is a Coroner's personal responsibility (and not that of his/her clerk/secretary) to ensure that they sit when possible. The Chief Coroner and the Lord Chancellor would expect an Assistant Coroner to offer a minimum of 20 sitting days each financial year. However, it is recognised that there is a variance of workload in each area.

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 5 years of experience whilst holding that qualification. They will be under the age of 75 and be subject to the appointment and eligibility conditions within the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (s.23and Schedule 3).

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.

If you wish to have an informal discussion or arrange a visit, please contact Sarah Church, PA to H.M. Senior Coroner for Surrey. Email: sarah.church@surreycoroner.gov.uk

The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute).