Coroner’s Referral Officer

We are seeking a dedicated professional to join the Coroners Service. In this role, you will serve as a primary point of contact, providing immediate support and guidance to bereaved families following sudden and unexpected deaths.

Working directly with the HM Senior and Area Coroners for West Sussex, as well as with bereaved families and various third-party agencies, you will ensure that all parties are informed of investigation progress and receive appropriate support as needed.

Your main responsibilities will include recording cases of sudden and unexpected death by inputting referred cases into the Coroners database, and updating families, professionals, and witnesses on case progression in accordance with the Coroner’s and Justice Act 2009, Coroner’s (Investigations) Regulations 2013, Coroner’s (Inquests) Rules 2013, and the Chief Coroner’s Guidance.

You will be granted a number of ‘designated powers’ when authorized by the Coroner, and are expected to execute these powers professionally, legally, and with due consideration.

If you enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and relish being part of a close-knit team and can use your expertise to support the residents of West Sussex. we want to hear from you!

To succeed in this role, you will demonstrate resilience and professionalism when handling potentially sensitive, confidential, or distressing inquiries.

We are seeking candidates who can showcase excellent communication skills and have a strong desire to apply these skills in influencing stakeholders.

You should be capable of managing your own workload, working flexibly, multitasking, and balancing various priorities effectively to meet the needs of the bereaved, HM Coroners, and partner agencies.

A keen attention to detail is essential, along with the ability to work independently. Comfort in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with rapidly changing deadlines, workloads, and priorities is also important.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 27 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 5 years’ service plus the opportunity to buy additional leave and an excellent local government pension scheme.

A range of discounts give our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.

For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.

The reference number for this role is CPP01107.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Chris Nicola at [email protected]

For an informal conversation regarding the application process, please contact Rosa Siracusa (Recruitment Specialist) at [email protected]

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [email protected]

Does this sound like the opportunity for you? Click apply below, upload your CV, and complete the application form, explaining how you meet the key skills in the attached job description and experience you can bring to the role. Please ensure all that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.

RSi