Assistant Coroners

Surrey County Council is seeking to appoint up to 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.

Successful candidates will be required to attend a mandatory Assistant Coroner Induction training course on 1-2 December 2026 and a follow up course in June 2027 (date to be confirmed).

About the post

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 candidate 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., Assistant Coroners are required to sit a minimum of 20 days a year. 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 Area Coroner., The vacancy for this post has been notified to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor (as required by statute)

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).