Head of Operational Standards

Kallidus Recruit; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Car allowance

Annual bonus up to 10%

Private medical cover

Pension matching up to 4%

Life assurance

Staff discounts

EAP

Leadership development

Free parking

Job summary

Dignity Funeral Directors, part of Life Services Group, seeks a Head of Operational Standards to set and enforce the standards across its funeral homes and care centres. You will lead a national team, ensure compliant care of the deceased, and drive end-to-end funeral delivery across the network.

You will embed practical guidance from CMA and Scottish regulation, partnering with field leaders to ensure consistent, high-quality care and processes that meet families' expectations every day.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in UK funeral operations.
• Hands-on knowledge of care of the deceased and end-to-end funeral delivery.
• Experience leading a standards, compliance or quality function at national level.
• Ability to translate national policy into branch-level practice.
• Proven coaching of field-based managers in real-world settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop your team of specialists across the network.
• Oversee national care of the deceased standards including embalming and ID.
• Translate CMA, FCA Consumer Duty and Scottish regulation into practical guidance.
• Coach Heads of Region and Cluster Managers in the field.
• Ensure new systems embed and standards drive redesign of the network.
• Turn complaints into fixed processes and support regulatory readiness.

Skills

People leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Policy to practice

Coaching field managers

Written guidance

Driving licence

Job description

Position: Head of Operational Standards

Location: National. You’ll work from a local office three days a week, with regular travel to our funeral homes and care centres across the UK.

Job Type: Full-time, permanent

Salary: £60,000 – £65,000 per annum + car allowance

The role at a glance:

• Reports to the Director of Funeral Operations
• leads a small team of experienced specialists
• national scope across our funeral homes and care centres

Set the standard for funeral care, and help shape what good looks like across the industry

As Head of Operational Standards, you’ll own how we care for the people who have died and how every funeral is delivered, across every Dignity funeral home and care centre. This is a new role. For the first time, it brings our specialists in care of the deceased, process and procedures, change and adoption, and logistics and delivery together into one team. You’ll lead that team and make it work as one.

Dignity is one of the UK’s leading funeral providers, and other funeral directors look to us to see what good looks like. The standards you set won’t just guide our own branches. They’ll help define good funeral care across the country.

When someone dies, families need to know they can rely on us completely. Your job is to make sure the standards behind that are clear, practical and followed every day, and to move us from fixing problems as they arise to closing gaps before they reach a family.

What you’ll do

• Lead and develop your team of specialists, building a team where everyone can cover each other’s work
• Oversee our national care of the deceased standards, including embalming and identification, and support growing our care standards into a complete guide for every branch
• Turn regulation into practical guidance, covering CMA requirements, FCA Consumer Duty and Scottish regulation, as the rest of the UK moves towards regulation too
• Coach our Heads of Region and Cluster Managers directly, out in the field, so standards stick in daily practice
• Make sure new systems and processes really embed, and represent operational standards as we redesign how our network works
• Turn recurring complaints into fixed processes, keep us audit- and inspection-ready, and work with partners including the NAFD

What you’ll bring

• Substantial experience in UK funeral operations, with strong hands‑on knowledge of care of the deceased and end‑to‑end funeral delivery
• Experience leading a standards, compliance or quality function at national level
• A track record of turning national policy into consistent branch‑level practice
• Experience coaching field‑based managers where they work, not just running classroom training
• A strong grasp of the regulations that affect funeral operations, including CMA and Scottish regulation
• Clear writing that turns complex requirements into plain, practical guidance
• A full UK driving licence, and flexibility to travel regularly and join our out‑of‑hours escalation rota

Most of all, you’ll be the conscience of our operation. You’ll hold yourself and others to high standards, speak up when something isn’t right, and always put honesty and openness with families first, while knowing when to be pragmatic and find common ground.

Experience in another regulated, care‑led sector such as healthcare, or of working with industry bodies, would be a bonus. You’ll find full details in the job description.

What you’ll get

• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
• £6,000 car allowance for travel across our sites
• Annual bonus of up to 10%
• Private medical cover for your family
• Pension with contributions matched up to 4%
• Life assurance of four times your salary
• My Staff Shop discounts at high street and online retailers
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, occupational health and confidential counselling
• Leadership development and long‑term career progression across Life Services Group
• Free on‑site parking at most locations

Why Dignity Funeral Directors, part of Life Services Group

Death is part of life, and being there for families when it matters is what we do. Do work that means something, in a business changing an industry for the better.

Dignity Funeral Directors is part of Life Services Group, alongside The Crematorium and Memorial Group (CMG), Simplicity Cremations, Dignity Legal Services and Farewill. Our vision is to be the UK’s leading end‑of‑life company, helping one in three people across the UK to plan for and deal with death, and we’re proud to be named in the FT 500 Best UK Employers 2026, and a top 50 employer.

Meaningful purpose.

We’re there for families at or planning for the hardest moments of their lives. We set high standards for ourselves and aim to lead the industry.

Grow with us.

Be part of a group with learning, apprenticeships and leadership routes across our brands, creating more opportunities for a fulfilling career.

Shape the future.

We’re changing so we can be the UK’s number one end‑of‑life provider. You’ll have a say in that change. And you’ll see what it delivers, for families and for the bottom line.

FCA statement

Dignity Funeral Directors is part of Life Services Group, which includes FCA-regulated activities. Some roles may be subject to relevant training, screening, conduct and regulatory requirements. We’ll confirm this during the recruitment process.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Our vision is to connect with our clients, colleagues, company and communities based on our principles, while celebrating our differences. We aim to empower leaders and colleagues to seek out and understand new voices and perspectives, to be vocal about inequity and exclusion, and to take decisive, informed and bold action to promote inclusion and belonging.

Any unsolicited submissions from agencies will be treated as a direct application from the candidate, and no fees will be payable.

Depending on the number of applications, we may close or extend the closing date for this role, so we recommend applying early.