Funeral Service Operative

DeFi Planet; Sandhurst; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a compassionate team dedicated to providing exceptional end-of-life care. As a Funeral Service Operative, you will play a vital role in supporting bereaved families during their most challenging times. This full-time position offers a structured work schedule with opportunities for professional development and training. You will be responsible for the respectful care of the deceased, ensuring their dignity throughout the process. Your empathetic approach and resilience will be key in delivering outstanding service. Enjoy generous annual leave, discounts, and a supportive work environment as you make a meaningful impact in your community.

Benefits

31 days of annual leave

20% discount in stores

Share incentive plan

In-house training & development programmes

Qualifications

• Full clean UK driving license required.
• No prior experience in the funeral industry needed; training provided.

Responsibilities

• Collecting and preparing the deceased for funerals.
• Driving vehicles and acting as a bearer during services.
• Building relationships with local communities.

Skills

Empathy

Resilience

Compassion

Manual handling

Relationship building

Tools

Driving vehicles

Job description

At Southern Co-op we offer a lot more than just a job. As we are completely owned by our 200,000+ members, we put people first. Become part of the family with Southern Co-op, who are proud to serve local communities and put people first.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Funeralcare team as a Funeral Service Operative. We’re offering a full-time role (37.5 hours per week) working Monday to Friday (plus out-of-hours on an on-call rota basis). This role will require a full, clean UK driving license for both manual and automatic vehicles.

We are seeking an individual who is extremely passionate about building relationships, helping people, and delivering great service for the bereaved. Previous experience within the funeral industry is not required as at Southern Co-op we’ll support you in your career development and provide full training.

What to expect

As a Funeral Service Operative you’ll be delivering the best end of life care, support, and experience to the deceased and their families at their time of need. As an integral part of our Funeral Operations team, you’ll take responsibility for the deceased whilst they’re in our care. You’ll assist in the smooth delivery of funerals, from collection, transportation, and preparation of the deceased, through to driving our vehicles and acting as a conductor or bearer at funeral services. This is a physically and emotionally demanding role, that also calls for an empathetic and compassionate approach with an ability to remain resilient under pressure.

Your day-to-day tasks will include:

• Collecting the deceased and taking them to rest at one of our funeral homes. In some cases, this may involve challenging locations and circumstances.
• Helping to dress and prepare the deceased, including preparing for viewing and placing the deceased into the coffin or casket.
• Driving our vehicles with pride and care and ensuring all our vehicles are in a pristine condition for each funeral.
• Acting as a bearer on all types of funerals and removals.
• Supporting our local communities, building strong relationships, whilst acting as a trusted ambassador for our funeral care services.
• This role will involve manual handling.
• Can demonstrate resilience and work under pressure.
• High level of understanding, empathy, and compassion.
• Flexibility to support our on-call service, you’ll need to be available in the evenings, at weekends, and overnight, plus be flexible to occasionally cover for holidays, sickness, and busy periods.

In addition to the above, we offer:

• 31 days of annual leave (incl bank holidays) increasing over time to a maximum of 36 days after 10 years’ service.
• 20% discount in stores.
• Share incentive plan.
• Opportunities to develop your skills through apprenticeships and our own in-house training & development programmes.

If we receive a high volume of relevant applications, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so please apply as soon as you can.