Job Listing for Investigations Specialist – Family Advocate at DISTRICT ONE MEDICAL EXAMINER – PENSACOLA, FLORIDA
| Position | Investigations Specialist – Family Advocate |
| Agency | DISTRICT ONE MEDICAL EXAMINER – PENSACOLA, FLORIDA |
| Position Type | Full-time |
| Salary | Not listed |
| On-Call | |
| cnieten@d1meo.org | |
| Phone |
| Country | United States of America |
| Address | |
| City | |
| State | FL |
| Zip | |
| County |
Description
The District One Medical Examiner’s Office provides medicolegal death investigation services for the four most Western counties in the Florida panhandle (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton) which includes a population of nearly 800,000 residents. The primary office is in Pensacola and with plans to build a new facility in Santa Rosa County. The mission is to provide quality, transparent, and compassionate medicolegal death investigation services to the residents of District One. Provides highly responsible executive, administrative and technical support to the Chief Medical Examiner and senior management staff.
The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a
logical assignment to the position. Personal characteristics required of all employees such as honesty, industry, sobriety, and
the ability to get along with others, are presumed qualities and are not listed specifically.
Investigations Specialist - Family Advocate – Role and Responsibilities
• Serve as a liaison to families after the initial investigative phase, providing timely, compassionate, and
trauma-informed communication about case status, anticipated timelines, and next steps.
• Deliver ongoing support to next of kin through a standardized post-case communication protocol, including
scheduled follow-ups based on case type (e.g., 30-day and 60-day check-ins).
• Identify and facilitate referrals to grief counseling, crisis services, victim advocacy, mental health resources,
and substance use support networks. Maintain and regularly update a regional directory of vetted support
services across the district.
• Ensure next-of-kin communication and follow-up documentation is complete, accurate, and compliant with
agency and state requirements.
• Implement and manage a structured family feedback system. Collect, analyze, and report trends to the Chief
Investigator monthly, and collaborate on service improvements.
• Prepare monthly reports summarizing outreach activities, case support trends, and family service metrics.
Maintain ongoing collaboration with the Chief Investigator to align advocate activities with investigative
operations and quality goals.
• Develop and maintain informational materials (print and digital) to help families understand the medicolegal
death investigation process and support grief navigation.
• Collaborate on internal and interagency public health initiatives, including grant development and data
tracking for emerging trends such as overdose, suicide, and other preventable causes of death.
• Participate in emergency operations and mass fatality response planning. Serve in designated roles during
activations, including Family Assistance Center (FAC) support or field-based responsibilities.
• Maintain appropriate role boundaries between advocacy and investigation. Follow disclosure protocols and
ensure emotionally sensitive communications are handled professionally.
• Maintain ABMDI certification and participate in continuing education related to trauma-informed care,
bereavement support, overdose prevention, and emotional resilience. Engage with peer support networks and
advocacy workgroups.
• Complete medicolegal inquiries on EDRS referred death certificates.
• Perform all duties required of a D1MEO Medicolegal Death Investigator as needed.
• Uphold the values of transparency, compassion, and public service in all family and agency interactions.
Qualifications:
• Two years of experience in a Medical Examiner’s Office or related field
• Highschool Diploma
• Current Florida Driver’s license or the ability to obtain one within 30 days of employment
• ABMDI – Diplomate certified
Preferred Qualifications:
• Bilingual: Spanish/English (pay differential with certification in Medical Spanish)
• Undergraduate degree or a combination of education and experience
• ABMDI – Fellow certified
Knowledge: Basic to intermediate medical terminology. Basic to intermediate anatomy and physiology. Basic understanding
of death from myocardial infarction, CVA, organ failure, sepsis, accidental and nonaccidental trauma, asphyxiation, and other common causes of death. Basic understanding of the different manners of death. Basic understanding of common prescription, non-prescription and illicit drugs. Knowledge of medicolegal death investigation policy and procedures and Florida statutes pertaining to the medical examiner (F.S. 406).