Funeral Service Operative

We have an exciting opportunity to join our End of life services team as a Funeral Service Operative.

The shifts will be worked Monday to Friday (plus out-of-hours on an on-call rota basis).

In this role you'll be delivering the best end of life care, support, and experience to the deceased and their families at their time of need. 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.

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.

You must have a full, clean UK driving license for both manual and automatic vehicles. For vehicle fleet insurance purposes you must be over 25.

What to expect

-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.

Great communication & listening skills

-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

We're an independent Co-op, operating across the south of England running convenience food stores, funeral homes, crematoria, natural/woodland burial grounds and a Starbucks coffee franchise. We're owned by our 200,000+ members, have over 4,000 colleagues and a purpose of working together for the benefit of our communities. We have a commitment to sustainable business and a promise to provide a fair, fresh approach, for all. Become part of the family who are proud to serve local communities and put people first.

If you're successful in your application, we'll need to perform a DBS (disclosure and barring service). This is to ensure Southern Co-op Funerals are compliant with the NAFDs Funeral Director code.

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.

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

-Healthcare cash plan

-Share incentive plan

-NEST pension

-Cycle-to-work scheme

-Opportunities to develop your skills through apprenticeships and our own in-house training & development programmes