Job Description

Job description
The Medico-Legal Centre is situated at Watery Street, near Shalesmoor/Kelham Island. It is purpose-built to provide facilities and services required for the investigation of sudden or unexpected deaths. It comprises the offices and courts of HM Coroner for South Yorkshire (West) Jurisdiction, (which covers Sheffield and Barnsley), and the public mortuary. The building comprises employees from Sheffield City Council and South Yorkshire Police.





The Centre is dedicated to providing a high standard of service to the bereaved and is recognised as a model of good practice in this field of work. Everyone working at the Medico-Legal Centre is committed to dealing with the technical and legal side of the investigation of sudden death in a professional, dignified and sympathetic manner.





An exciting and challenging opportunity has arisen for an empathic, efficient, proactive, competent person to join the usher team at the centre. The role is key in supporting service delivery and improving outcomes for the bereaved.





The Court Usher acts as an essential first point of contact for all the court users involved in coronial hearings. This includes members of the public, judiciary, jurors, solicitors/barristers, the police, representatives of external agencies, etc. You will prepare court and meeting rooms, as well as ensure the court runs smoothly and efficiently. You will need to demonstrate professionalism, empathy and sensitivity as you support family members, the coroner and others attending. There are some administrative duties associated with this role before and after an inquest.





We are looking for a motivated self-starter who has excellent customer service, communication, organisational and IT skills (there is a requirement to be familiar with Microsoft Offices packages). You need to be able to work using your own initiative as well as to be a good team player; know how to prioritise your workload and meet deadlines; have the ability to work under pressure; and own a problem or task through to completion.





A key requirement is being able to manage difficult conversations and being sensitive and empathic to the needs of the bereaved.





Most of all you need to demonstrate energy and commitment to providing a polite and professional service.





We are looking to recruit a pool of 3-4 court ushers, on a casual ad-hoc basis.





Please read the job description and person specification for this post carefully before completing your application. If you would like to find out more about the post, please make enquiries with Stuart Gray 0114 203 9630 or email: Stuart.Gray@sheffield.gov.uk .





Advance notification of interview dates which will be held on the 30th and 31st July 2025.





We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.





It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.





Under the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants, who meet the essential criteria of this job, are guaranteed an interview.





Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.





If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide pay slip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.





Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

Job details

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Job reference
REQ003419
Date posted
10/06/2025
Application closing date
29/06/2025
Location
Sheffield
Salary
Grade 4, 25,584 - 27,711
Package
Casual
Contractual hours
0
Basis
Not Applicable
Job category/type
Customer Service