Funeral Service Manager

Welwyn Garden City

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Job ID: 1047143
Closing date: 17-10-2024

Please make sure that you can reliably commute to this location.

Benefits

Holidays starting from 31 days holiday per year (includes bank holidays)
30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores
Pension with up to 10% employer contributions
Wagestream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
Services to support your physical, mental and financial wellbeing
Flexibility – we’ll aim to find a working pattern that fits your life
Endless career development opportunities including apprenticeships

Job description

Funeral Service Manager

£36,000-£39,000 per annum plus benefits (Work Level 6A)

Full Time 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm

Welwyn Garden City, Hertforshire AL7 4ST

We’re looking for a funeral service manager to join the Co-op Funeralcare team and help our colleagues to deliver the best possible service to our clients. If you can bring amazing people skills combined with real commercial focus, we can offer you the opportunity to make a difference.

As a funeral service manager you’ll work with colleagues at all levels, covering between 7 and 15 funeral homes in your region. We’ll look to you to build great relationships, set standards for care and adherence to regulatory compliance, and oversee funeral services and processes to make sure we’re consistently delivering to the highest possible standards.

What you’ll do

• lead and coach a team of funeral directors and arrangers across your region

• build strong and effective relationships with colleagues in your area to drive a consistently high standard of funeral service to our clients

• inspire your teams to focus on achieving the highest possible standards of client care in line with business and commercial objectives

• analyse and review management information to spot opportunities and drive continuous improvement and consistency across the wider business

• take an active role in the community; building relationships with other Co-op businesses and external organisations to promote our services and bring our communities together

• make sure ‘certified colleagues’ are fully supported in reaching and maintaining the required levels of competency for operating in a regulated environment

• make sure ‘non-certified’ colleagues are operating within regulatory guidelines and processes

• manage resources across the area, make sure there’s funeral plan arrangement cover in the homes where there are no trained colleagues

• take responsibility for any client complaints and issues

• carry out inspections of funeral homes to make sure standards are met and premises are always immaculate and presentable and in line with risk, health and safety standards

This role will suit people who have

• real commercial focus and the ability to spot opportunities and trends

• excellent organisational skills and attention to detail to make sure regulatory policies and processes are always adhered to

• confidence communicating and presenting to all kinds of people

• the ability to coach and mentor teams across multiple locations

• great relationship building and customer service skills

• the ability to communicate professionally and sensitively with clients and at a difficult time in their lives

• an open mind when it comes to working around and coming into contact with the deceased

• a UK manual driving licence

Why Co-op?

Here you’ll do work that matters. We’re a commercial organisation with a purpose beyond profit, you’ll have an opportunity to help us build a stronger Co-op and stronger communities. You’ll also get a package that includes:

• competitive salary

• coaching, training and support to help you develop

• pension with up to 10% employer contributions

• annual incentive scheme

• 28 days holiday (increasing with service)

• discounts on Co-op products and services

Building an inclusive work environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. We want to build inclusive work environments, where our colleagues have equal opportunities to reach their full potential. We celebrate our differences, and recognise the importance of our teams reflecting the communities they serve.

If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs. We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We'll ask whether you’d like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process.

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme and all our commitments to diversity and inclusion at colleagues.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-and-wellbeing.

As part of your application you’ll need to complete an online assessment. It will take you around 12 minutes to complete this test.

If you’re successful in your application, we’ll perform some background checks as part of our pre-employment screening process. These will include a DBS (disclosure and barring service) and adverse media checks, and an occupational health questionnaire (to ensure you are fit to perform the role). We’ll also seek regulatory references and check your social media activity on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In this role you’ll work under FCA regulation – we’ll provide you with all the training you need to become a ‘certified colleague’.

To make sure you’re eligible to advise clients on ‘pre-need’ funeral plans as a ‘certified colleague’, we’ll perform FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and financial integrity checks. These aim to identify financial sanctions such as CCJs (county court judgements) or bankruptcy. Your credit score will not be checked as part of this process.

Any offer of employment made will be conditional upon the completion of pre-employment screening checks.

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Helping everyone say their best goodbye

This can be an emotional job. But it’s also an incredibly fulfilling career. At Co-op Funeralcare we're proud to support our customers at the most difficult time of their lives. Empathy and compassion are key to everything we do, looking after and caring for our clients every step of the way. Our funeral homes are at the heart of their local communities, and our colleagues play a key role in building relationships and making connections to make a difference, in the true spirit of co-operation. You’ll be part of a close-knit team, in which everyone has a voice and feels valued, welcome and included. Everyone can find their place here and build a rewarding career.

Our culture

Kindness and compassion are central to our culture and evident in the way we support our colleagues and clients. We champion the progress of our colleagues, and foster an environment where everyone feels valued and included no matter who they are. We work together to do what’s right for our clients, supporting them at the most difficult times of their lives and helping them say their best goodbye.

Our past, present and future is all about looking after our clients, with compassion and kindness at the core of everything we do.
Whatever job you do, you’ll be part of a caring and supporting team.
We’re proud our business makes a positive impact in our communities.
Everyone can find their place here, learn and develop new skills and build a career.

Find out about our roles

A career with Co-op Funeralcare could take you in a number of different directions, including management, embalming or a role in our support functions. You could even progress into another Co-op business area like Retail, Legal Services or Insurance.

Funeral Service Crew

Funeral Service CrewOur Funeral Service Crew help with the funeral and care for the deceased. You’ll work closely with your team to provide a seamless, sensitive service. And you don’t need experience – just a full UK driver’s licence. We’ll give you all the support you need to help build your career with Co-op Funeralcare.

Funeral Arranger

Funeral ArrangerOur Funeral Arrangers are the first point of contact for clients. They get to know clients’ needs and help them plan their funeral. You’ll need empathy and great customer service skills because your clients will look to you for help, support and advice. We’ll teach you everything else you need to do the job through our training and support.

Funeral Director

Funeral DirectorAs a Funeral Director, you’ll spend most of your time with families, supporting them through the funeral arrangements. You’ll manage your own time and build strong, trusting relationships.
We’ll give you all the support and training you need to develop your team and deliver a thoughtful service that works for our clients, and our business. Here, you’ll discover job satisfaction you never thought possible.

Care Logistics Manager / Funeral Services Manager

Care Logistics Manager / Funeral Services ManagerThese are management roles. Our Care Logistics Managers focus on the co-ordination of funerals and the line management of operational teams, making sure all resources are in the right place at the right time. Funeral Services Managers look after multiple branches, making sure funeral services are consistently delivered to the highest possible standards.

Embalmer

EmbalmerBecoming an Embalmer isn’t a common career choice, but it is an incredibly rewarding one. Embalmers help preserve and restore deceased people, creating a peaceful and lasting image for their family and friends. It’s a highly skilled and technical role, for which you need an official BIE qualification. If don’t hold this qualification, you can enrol on our embalmer apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships

ApprenticeshipsOur apprenticeships are open to everyone. As a Level 2 Funeral Team Member, you’ll develop your funeral arranging skills, learning how to deliver them with care and compassion. At Level 3, you can learn how to become a funeral director. Or you can become an embalmer with our Level 5 Embalmer programme, or progress to managerial roles with our degree apprenticeships. There are all kinds of ways you can progress in this role. Find out more on our apprentice hub.

Application process

At Co-op, we’re passionate about doing great work for the communities we trade in. That means having the right people, from all walks of life and backgrounds, in our team to serve them. Take a look below how to become one of us.

Applying for a job

Online assessment

Interview

Your decision

Apply

Applying for a job You can apply for a job with us quickly and easily on your laptop or phone. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done before or if you have little experience — it’s all about matching our values and bringing your passion, motivation and capabilities to your new role.

You don't need a CV to apply for a Funeralcare role at Co-op. We think that empathy and compassion are more important than experience and qualifications.

Online assessment As part of your application you’ll need to complete an online assessment which will measure how well your behaviours, values and motivations match up to this role. It will take around 20 minutes to complete.

Interview If you pass your online assessment and short phone call, you’ll be asked to come to one of our Funeralcare homes for an interview.

We’ll send you an email for you to choose a date and time for your interview online – but if you can’t make it, don’t worry, you can provide the Hiring Manager times of when’s best for you. Before your interview, we’ll send you a really helpful guide on how best to prepare, so nothing on the day should surprise you, and most importantly what proof you need to bring to prove your right to work in the UK.

Your decision If you’re successful at your interview, you’ll receive a phone call from the hiring manager you met to talk about your job offer. If you accept, we’ll then send your offer online via an email. Before anything can be processed, we'll need you to accept this offer online. There will then be a round of pre-employment screening, including background checks. Once all confirmed, this will start your journey into our Co-op.

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Career Development Hub

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Funeral Service Manager

Welwyn Garden City

Benefits

Job description

Success profile

Helping everyone say their best goodbye