Lead Medicolegal Death Investigator

About the role

The City and County of Denver offers competitive pay commensurate with education and experience. New hires are typically brought into the organization between $35.21 and $44.89. We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which include but are not limited to:

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service
• 457B Retirement Plan
• 140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 12 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday, 1 Wellness Day and 1 volunteer day per year
• Competitive medical, dental and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

Responsibilities

Within the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), the Office of the Medical Examiner (OME) investigates all violent, suspicious, and unexpected natural deaths that occur in the City and County of Denver. The goal of forensic investigation and autopsy is to develop logical, scientific, and unbiased information necessary to determine the cause and manner of death for the proper and accurate completion of the death certificate and autopsy report.

The agency also offers death expert testimony/consultation, death scene response and investigation, and deceased identification and death notification. OME reports and other information can be found at: Office of the Medical Examiner.

This position performs lead work over the Medicolegal Death Investigations team. Specifically, as the Lead Medicolegal Death Investigator you will:

• Perform lead work over Medicolegal Death Investigators regarding deaths reportable to the Medical Examiner per CSR 30-10-606.
• Communicate details of investigations to the Medical Examiners as appropriate.
• Assist the Supervisor with all pertinent duties, as needed.
• Perform Supervisor-level duties in the Supervisor’s absence.
• Staff supervision, by position.
• Oversee shifts and assists in reviewing cases.
• Provide training, mentors new and current employees, and assists Investigators with difficult and/or complex investigations.
• Orchestrates and supervises investigative internship program by conducting regular 1-on-1 meetings, monitoring educational growth, acting as liaison between colleges and Public Safety, and other duties as needed.
• Represents DOME in community outreach and education opportunities.
• Along with all department staff, this position will actively participate on an emergency preparedness and response team to support DDPHE’s responsibilities outlined in the City’s Emergency Operations Plan. This may require being 'on-call' from time to time to help respond to emergencies.
• Additional training commensurate with assigned duties will be provided.
• Other duties as assigned.

This classification performs technical, physically demanding work supporting the Office of Medical Examiner, which may be performed outside of normal business hours in a variety of field settings within the Denver metropolitan area. This is both physically and emotionally demanding work that requires employees to occasionally assist in raising or lowering objects up to 100 pounds.

What You’ll Bring

We value diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience and exemplify this through the makeup of our team at all levels. You'll be right at home here if you cultivate strong relationships and push yourself, your work, the people around you and Denver to the next level. Our ideal candidate has some or all of the following experience, skills, and characteristics:

• Previous supervisory and/or lead investigator experience.
• Ability to provide dignity and respect while caring for deceased persons and their families in stressful and/or volatile situations and environments.
• Exceptional customer service skills, along with initiative, strong personal accountability, empathy, attention to detail, flexibility, and patience.
• Positive attitude and desire to be a leader, mentor, and team player.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Experience working in highly stressful situations and environments while also demonstrating professionalism and calmness.

Required Minimum Qualifications

Education requirement: Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, Psychology, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Experience Requirement: Four (4) years of professional experience conducting comprehensive medicolegal death investigations. One (1) year of internship with the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner could substitute for one (1) year of required experience.

Education/Experience Equivalency: One (1) year of the appropriate type and level of experience may be substituted for each required year of post-high school education.

Licensure: Requires a medicolegal death investigator certification by the ABMDI.

This job requires driving. Requires a valid Driver's License at the time of application.

Condition of Employment: It is a condition of employment that the Denver Police Forensics & Evidence Division form for consent for collection of a DNA sample be completed at the time of hire.

About Everything Else: Job Profile CE3157 Medicolegal Death Investigator Lead To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here. Position Type: Unlimited Position Salary Range: $35.21 - $54.57 Target Pay: Though the full range is listed, our expected hiring range is between $35.21 and $44.89. Agency: Dept of Public Health & Environment Redeployment during Citywide Emergencies: City and County of Denver employees may be re-deployed to work in other capacities in their own agencies or in other city agencies to support core functions of the city during a citywide emergency declared by the Mayor. The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law. It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact Jobs@Denvergov.org with three business days’ notice. Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S. For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.