Funeral Operative

Lincolnshire Co-op; Newark on Trent; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused cooperative in Newark on Trent is looking for a Funeral Operative to support families during difficult times. This role involves working with the funeral service team to manage logistics, prepare the deceased, and ensure a respectful environment. While no specific qualifications are required, a caring nature and a full driving license are essential. Benefits include competitive pay and annual leave.

Benefits

30 days annual leave (pro-rata)

Pension scheme with up to 12% employer contributions

Generous colleague discount rates

Annual discretionary bonuses

Free tea and coffee provisions

On-call payment of £28.60 per night and £57.20 per call-out

Qualifications

• No specific experience or qualifications required; training provided.
• Must have a full driving license.
• Comfortable in the presence of the deceased.

Responsibilities

• Bear coffins and drive funeral vehicles.
• Prepare and bring the deceased into care.
• Maintain funeral vehicles and facilities.
• Participate in an on-call rota.

Skills

Caring and professional approach to customer service

Good literacy and numeracy skills

Teamwork

Confident communication skills

Attention to detail

Ability to lift and transfer weights safely

Flexible approach to work

Job description

About the role:

Our funeral service teams work hard to provide a personal and professional service across Lincolnshire, where we have been supporting the bereaved for over 150 years. Showing compassion and empathy and delivering the highest standards of professional service, we support our customers through what can be one of the most difficult days of their lives.

As a Funeral Operative you’ll work as part of a team to ensure we provide a warm, compassionate, and comprehensive customer care when it’s needed most. You’ll be working together with our Funeral Service team to care for and prepare the deceased, ensuring everything runs smoothly for their final journey and that their bereaved families have all the support they might need. Duties will include (but are not limited to):

• Bearing coffins and driving funeral vehicles to help families celebrate the lives of their loved one
• Supporting your colleagues with bringing the deceased into our care and preparing them for visitations and the funeral day
• Preparing and cleaning funeral vehicles and facilities so that they are ready for service
• Participation in an out of hours on‑call rota to allow us to be there for our clients whenever necessary

Please refer to the downloadable job description which is available on this page.

About You

We’re not looking for any specific experience or qualifications – we’ll support you with specialist training from day one! If you’re a caring people person with a genuine desire to help people at a time when they need it most – we’d love to hear from you! You’ll need to have a full driving licence and show us:

• A naturally caring and professional approach to customer service in any situation
• Good literacy, numeracy and IT skills as extensive use of technology is required in this role
• The ability to work productively and efficiently as part of a team
• Confident communication skills and a strong attention to detail
• An ability to lift and transfer weights safely
• A flexible approach to your work due to the participation of the on‑call rota

When applying for this position you should recognise that the reverent care of the deceased forms a large part of our services, particularly in this role, we need you to be comfortable in the presence of the deceased and in support of our clients. Please note that the successful candidate for this role will be required to complete a DBS check before joining our team.

To ensure our agreed call out times are met, candidates must live within a reasonable distance of the Funeral Services that they are applying for.

Benefits

This is a great opportunity to develop your career in funerals and make a difference to the lives of our communities! In addition to working for a successful co‑operative business, we offer our colleagues fantastic benefits, including:

• 30 days annual leave (including bank holidays) (pro‑rata)
• Pension scheme (with up to 12% employer contributions)
• Generous colleague discount rates across our family of businesses
• Annual discretionary colleague bonuses to reward you for your hard work
• Free tea and coffee provisions for all colleagues during rest breaks at work
• The following payments will be awarded per call:
  • £28.60 for each night you are scheduled on‑call (this is doubled at the weekend and on bank holidays)
  • Each individual call‑out is paid £57.20

About Us

From a single store in 1861 we have grown to be one of the most successful co‑operatives in the UK. We’re proud to offer a wide range of services from across our family of businesses. From food stores and pharmacies to post offices and support services, we’re a growing society made up of over 220 outlets and nearly 3,000 colleagues.

We’re owned by our members, the people of Lincolnshire and surrounding counties, and have been for more than 160 years! Communities are at the heart of everything we do and motivate us to deliver more than great customer service. We support them by sharing dividends with members, investing in new and improved services, raising money for charity through our Community Champion scheme, supporting local schools and so much more! Find out more about us, our purpose and wonderful colleagues here.

We work together as a society and are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is barrier‑free and as inclusive as possible for everyone. If you need any adjustments, would like us to do anything differently during the interview or would like to get in touch with us about anything else, please contact our Recruitment team on [phone], or alternatively you can email [e-mail].

We may choose to close our vacancies in the event that we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we encourage all candidates to apply as soon as possible.