The Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (OFPS) and Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC) seeks a professional to provide coroner and transportation dispatching and morgue attendant duties. As an integral team member, you will work on rotating shifts within a 24/7 schedule, including statutory holidays and weekends as required.
Note:
-This competition will be used to create an eligibility list of qualified candidates to potentially hire upcoming permanent and/or temporary vacancies within 18 months of the posting closing date.
About the job
In this role, you will:
• Receive and appropriately direct requests for the services of on-call Coroners and Forensic Pathologists and body removal services located across the province by following standard operating procedures, directives and guidelines
• Receive bodies/remains to the morgue for storage and post mortem examination by weighing the body/remains, and assigning appropriate storage
• Advise and release bodies to legally entitled individuals/agencies and ensure paper work (i.e. Warrants for Post Mortem Examination) is in order for both incoming and outgoing bodies/remains
• Maintain continuity of evidence and ensure appropriate handling procedures
• Responsibly attend to inquiries from investigators, medical professionals and the public and route media enquiries to appropriate management staff
• Communicate with next-of-kin regarding body identification, releasing of body/remains for disposition to funeral services, and providing various information (i.e. obtaining Medical Certificates of Death)
• Appropriately triage after-hours calls including forwarding calls, if required, to Regional Supervising Coroners and after-hours on-call staff
What you bring to the team
Oral Communication, Tact and Interpersonal Skills
• You can respond promptly and professionally to regular and after-hours inquiries from a range of contacts to ensure evidence is maintained and investigations are conducted in an efficient and timely manner
• You have patience, empathy, and tact to effectively communicate with bereaved individuals and next-of-kin immediately following a death in order to provide information, explain procedures, and to answer questions.
Computer and Software Skills
•You have knowledge of computer data base systems such as information/case management systems and other applicable software (e.g, F-Path, CIS and Quin C) to enter and retrieve information, utilize MS Outlook, MS Word etc.
Technical Knowledge and Skills
• You have knowledge of and experience with procedures for handling bodies/evidence (i.e. continuity of evidence, health and safety, universal precautions) in order to assess incoming/outgoing bodies/remains and determine required action
Reasoning, Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills
• You can identify priorities and matters requiring the Chief Coroner's or Chief Forensic Pathologist's attention
• You are able to review relevant documents (e.g. Warrants for Post Mortem Examination, police sudden death reports/ occurrence reports, faxes, funeral home releases, subpoenas, etc.) and coordinate pertinent paper flow within the branch
• You can determine the nature of calls received from external organizations and make decisions concerning the permissibility or confidentiality of information requested
• You can compile, report, and analyze data and statistics in response to requests from Coroners (e.g., number of calls on a specific case)
• You can deal regularly with grieving individuals, both in-person and over the phone, where there is a potential for extreme behaviour
General Knowledge
• You have the ability to acquire and apply knowledge of statutes and legislation related to the death investigation process (i.e. Coroners Act, Anatomy Act, Trillium Gift of Life Network Act, etc.)
• You can acquire knowledge of relevant ministry and program directives, guidelines, policies and procedures to provide information and report findings to senior management
• You have an understanding of medical terminology to liaise with medical professionals and others regarding the nature, manner, and cause of death and circumstances surrounding a death
•You have a strong attention to detail and the ability to check personal and sensitive information for accuracy and correctness, making changes to records as necessary
Don't meet every qualification?
If you are excited about this position and meet most, but not all, of the listed qualifications, please still consider applying. We recognize that no one person might have every qualification in this job ad, and you just might be the right candidate!
How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility
We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.
Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's
Human Rights Code and the
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer
accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please
contact us.Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace: