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Funeral Operative

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

Vacancy Introduction

We have provided Funeral Services to clients and families across the East of England for over 90 years. Our Funeral Operatives are fundamental to the service we provide, given the important role they play throughout the deceased’s time in our care.

You recognise that our clients and families place their complete trust and confidence in us to deliver a faultless final tribute. You’ll take instructions from the Funeral Director, understanding the importance of your individual role as part of the wider ceremonial team on the day of the service.

You will demonstrate the same professional approach at other times too, including when you bring the deceased into our care, whilst supporting chapel viewings and during your liaison with our clients and families.

Whilst previous experience of Funerals would be desirable, this isn’t essential; we’re more interested in hearing from individuals who can demonstrate that they have the professionalism, empathy and people skills suited to this environment. We are truly local, so whatever experience you bring to this role, you can be reassured that you will be fully supported by nearby branches and Head Office colleagues, as well as your line manager.

Role Responsibility

  • Drive and/or bear on funeral services, supporting our client’s and family’s needs throughout
  • To bring the deceased into our care from different locations / in varying circumstances
  • Prepare the deceased for viewings and the funeral service
  • Oversee chapel visits
  • Maintain the cleanliness and high standard of our facilities and ceremonial vehicles
  • Other support tasks, including preparing coffins, checking floral tributes and order of service, etc.

You may also be required to participate in an ‘out-of-hours’ on-call rota. The hiring manager will discuss this further should you be invited to attend an interview.

The Ideal Candidate

  • Great communication and interpersonal skills
  • Professional and empathetic approach
  • A ‘team player’
  • Attention to detail
  • Professional standard of conduct and appearance
  • Good knowledge of the local area
  • A full UK manual driving licence

Package Description

Alongside a competitive salary, we also offer enhanced employer pension contribution and holiday entitlement, as well as our colleague discount scheme (including 10% off in our Foodstores) – these are just a few benefits of working for us! Full details can be viewed on the ‘Colleague benefits’ section of our website.

You will benefit from our award-winning training helping you to achieve your true potential. Should you have your sights on career progression in the future, we’ve supported lots of our colleagues through Apprenticeships and to develop into managerial and professional roles.


Working Hours

We understand the importance of balancing work commitments with other activities and responsibilities, which is why we are happy to offer flexible working. We are always looking to find the right solutions to suit our colleagues and the business. Please indicate your availability within your application.

About the Company

As a co-op we’re a different type of business. We’re owned by our members and we work for the benefit of people and our communities, not just for profit.  We’re driven by our democratic values which are based around being fair, doing the right thing and caring for all those we deal with. This includes our customers, our suppliers, our environment and each other. 

We expect colleagues who work with us to share these values. We’re still a business and we work in a very competitive area so it’s still important that we’re efficient and work to the highest professional standards.

We’ve been able to achieve success for over 150 years because of our people and we encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds; you reflect the communities we serve! If you would like to join us on the next part of our journey, please follow the instructions on how to apply.

COVID-19 Recruitment Statement

Our colleague’s health and wellbeing is our priority and we have taken all reasonable steps to protect our teams in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whilst we have a number of measures in place to make our workplaces COVID-secure, applicants should be aware that the vast majority of our vacancies are for customer-facing roles. Whilst you are not obliged to share the details of any health conditions as part of your application, we would encourage you to consider any Government guidance which might apply to you. The latest advice for clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable people can be found here (https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus).

If you would like to discuss a vacancy prior to making an application, please contact hrservices@eastofengland.coop.

East of England Co-op

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