Vacancy

Assistant Coroner for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Salary – fee paid, £479.00 per day in line with the JNC Coroners Circular 66

Closing date: 31/10/2022

Nottingham City Council is seeking to appoint five 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 Nottingham City and County. The appointment will be made by Nottingham City Council as the relevant authority.

About the post:

Nottingham City 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.

Although prior experience as an Assistant Coroner is not essential, you will be required to demonstrate knowledge and experience of the role. This is an opportunity for lawyers considering their first judicial appointment – existing holders of judicial office will not be preferred on that basis alone. You will also be required to demonstrate knowledge of the Core Competencies for Assistant Coroners prescribed by the Chief Coroner’s Guidance No.20.You will also need to demonstrate the excellent communication and interpersonal skills necessary to deal with sensitive situations. 

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 regular commitment, which is to be agreed between the Assistant coroner, Senior coroner and the Local Authority. You will be expected to provide an out-of-hours service when either the Senior Coroner or the Area Coroner is absent.

An Assistant Coroner is an independent judicial office holder, appointed by the relevant authority but is not an employee of the Council. Assistant coroners deputise for the Senior Coroner covering the full range of duties and responsibilities in this complex area.

It is an Assistant 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.

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 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.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:

The candidate pack is available here: ac competition - assistant coroner candidate pack march 2020

Suitably qualified applicants are requested to email their CV and their supporting statement to lucy.lee@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Notification

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