Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery - Recruitment10/01/2025 17:00

Belfast - London

After holding Area Coroner positions in the NorthWest of England , over the summer I was appointed as the Head of Findings at the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (“ICRIR” or “the Commission”), the arm’s length body that was set up under the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. We have a statutory duty to produce and publish written reports that make findings about all the circumstances of every death or instance of harmful conduct that the Commission has investigated. We are committed to serving victims, families and survivors by thoroughly investigating and establishing the facts of past events, to provide an acknowledgement of the wrongdoing, in a way that is sensitive to the trauma experienced, is ECHR compliant and assists with the promotion of reconciliation.

The Commission is headed by Sir Declan Morgan, former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. He has responsibility for the production and publication of final reports, which are the product on which the Commission will be judged. As Head of Findings, I lead and am responsible for a team of Senior Findings Officers, Findings Officers, paralegals and a Legal Delivery Manager. From becoming operational on 1 May 2024, the Commission’s caseload continues to move at pace and this is an exciting time to join us. I am currently running a recruitment round to expand my team and would welcome applications from coroners, assistant coroners and retired coroners, whose skillsets are likely to be ideally suited to the Findings Officers role. Closing dates are 10 January 2025.

Findings Officers assess the evidence obtained by the Commissioner for Investigations and his team, and produce written reports of their findings. As a team, we are also responsible for the statutory representations process, following which the written reports are reviewed by me and the Chief Commissioner before publication.

For more details of the roles that are available within my team, please see the attached summary and for the Findings Officer role specifically see LINK TO APPLICATION PACK

Claire Welch | Head of Findings

Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery

Find out more on the ICRIR website