Is anyone here a Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths?

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Or knows someone who is?

I'm applying for a casual deputy registrar job and I really want it. It really appeals to me. So I'd love to find out as much as I can about the role. I haven't been formally employed for more years than I care to say (have been self-employed, then home with children and voluntary stuff) so I need all the help I can get!

Thank you.

Hi,

I do hope you don't mind me PM'ing you, but I am so interested in becoming a Registrar. I see that you managed to secure yourself a position so many congratulations. Can you tell me how you find the reality of the job and how long it took you to get it? I am 50 but have always worked full time in the public sector. Do you think my age would rule me out of applying for Registrar posts?

Sorry for all the questions!

Best wishes,

Dancing

Hi Dancing. Yes started job and enjoying it although so much to learn! Always busy but good variety.
I responded to a vacancy on the internet and was lucky enough to get through both stages as there were a lot of applicants.
Your age will not go against you as in fact it is one of those positions that would benefit from experience in life and I am over 50 myself!
Good luck

I'm also applying for a post of a registrar so if there's any still around on mumsnet it would be great to hear from you

Hi Timmy8034, it has been a while and I've revived this thread!
Hope you can help me as I've put in my cv for registration officer and really keen to do this role.
What type of tests do they set? I've heard about a 'presentation' preparation - grateful if you can tell me about it.

Hi Wiseflower, possibly too late now, but I've been working as a Registrar of births, marriages and deaths for the last 6 years or so, so give me a shout if you would still like some help with preparing for an interview or assessment day. Good luck!

Hi Sinkingfeeling. I'm considering applying for the role of Deputy Registrar. I'd love to know more about it as I think it sounds really intersting! Where are you based?

@Sinkingfeeling and @Timmy8034....hello both. Hoping you can help me. I've been shortlisted for a Registrar post and would love to link up with you both to get some insight prior to interview. It would be much appreciated, thanks.

Congratulations on your interview, @MissyHill! Happy to help if I can, feel free to ask me some questions.

@SinkingFeeling...thanks for replying. Firstly, I'm very pleased to have this opportunity, I believe it's a job that I could do very well and really enjoy. Perhaps you could give me some ideas about the kinds of questions I might be asked or scenarios given that I could prepare for. If it was possible, I could send you the job description/person spec which highlights which requirements will be tested at interview. It does say IT and high standards of numeracy will be tested. Presentation skills I think will also be tested via some type of presentation I guess I will either have to do there or pre-prepare. I haven't had the details yet, just been told I have been shortlisted for interview, so can't provide anything further. Many thanks :-)

Hi @MissyHill - is the job a full Registrar post or a Ceremonies Registrar post? the former would involve registering births, deaths, still-births and taking notices of marriage and civil partnership as well as conducting and registering marriage/CP ceremonies. Local authorities also conduct British citizenship ceremonies as well. The key skills are ability to multi-task and deal with people in a variety of emotive situations (bereavement, registering a baby after still birth, getting married when there is terminal illness in the family etc.). Flexibility is very important too - ability to cover a wide geographical error as well as switch mode quickly from birth to marriage to death, for.example. We use Teams in our area for nearly everything related to the admin side of the job, including making phone calls and recording data on spreadsheets, and numeracy is needed to balance electronic cash books, reconciling payments taken for services such as issuing certificates etc. This is not high-level stuff but does require a reasonable level of numeracy. I would expect interview questions to be based around ‘give me an example of …’ probing the skills above, and the presentation might be along the lines of reading out part of a ceremony script to see what your public speaking skills are like. Customer service skills are obviously very important in this job, and it would be worth doing some research on GDPR as well. Also take a look at the lrsa.org.uk website, as it has a section on becoming a registrar, as well as job vacancies. Very happy for you to send me the job description/person spec by PM and I’ll try to provide some more targeted suggestions.

@Sinkingfeeling....job title is: Registration Officer - to perform statutory functions, including registering births, stillbirths, deaths, civil partnerships and marriages. Taking notices of and conducting civil partnerships and marriages and other civil ceremonies as required.
I just want to say again that I really do appreciate you replying and offering advice and help, thank you for your time. I have already visited the website you suggested above and I do know a bit about GDPR, but will read around the topic more are per your suggestion. How do I PM you? I can send you the link to the job description/person spec.

@SinkingFeeling…I’ve PM’d you

I’ve replied, Missy

Hi all
I ve jumped on this thread as j have an interview on Friday for a registrar position.
It's only half an hour so I'm thinking it's just some basic questions with a further longer interview if successful.
Ca anyone tell me what will happen at each stage please and what I should be prepared for
Orla
Many thanks