Area Coroner for Manchester West20/01/2025 17:00
Bolton
Area Coroner for Manchester West
Salary £113,778 pa including statutory out of hours payment
Closing date: 5pm Monday 20th January 2025
About the post:
Bolton Council the relevant local authority for the Manchester West Coroner Area, is seeking to appoint an Area Coroner. This is a new Area Coroner to replace the current post-holder who retires in March 2025. There are two Area Coroners currently who 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 Area Coroner will work closely with the existing second 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 to undertake statutory out of hours. There are opportunities for the Area Coroner to engage in non-statutory out of hours work by separate negotiation.
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 at the Coroner’s Court and 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 2023 there were 3188 reported deaths and 818 concluded inquests.
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 the running a Coroner’s jurisdiction or comparable organisation, 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 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.
The Area Coroner will be based in the dedicated Coroner’s Court and Office in Paderborn House, Howell Croft North, Bolton, BL1 1QY. The Office opening hours are 8.30am - 4.00pm Monday to Friday.
How to apply:
Suitably qualified applicants are requested to apply through 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.
Direct link to information and Candidate application form - Area Coroner in Bolton | greater.jobs
If you wish to have an informal discussion or arrange a visit, please contact Chris Walker, Coroner Service Manager/First Officer on 01204 338794.
Closing date: 5pm Monday 20th January 2025
Interview & Assessment dates: Thursday 27th & Friday 28th Feb 2025 (provisional)
Stage 1 Technical Interview Assessments: Thursday 27th February 2025 (provisional)
Manchester West Coroner’s Office, Paderborn House, Howell Croft North, Bolton BL1 1QY.
Stage 2 Appointment Interviews: Friday 28th February 2025 (provisional)
(only successful candidates from day 1 Manchester West Coroner’s Office, Paderborn House
will proceed to day 2) Howell Croft North, Bolton BL1 1QY.
Notification: The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute).