Senior Funeral Director in Surrey, Woking

Location: R.C Payne Funeral Directors, Southampton

Job Type: 38.33 Hours per week

Salary: £33,000 per annum

We are looking for a compassionate and committed Senior Funeral Director to join our team at Southampton, as someone who takes pride in supporting families with care and professionalism. You will play a key leadership role in overseeing funeral arrangements, guiding and developing your team, and building strong relationships with local partners and the wider community to ensure every service is delivered with respect and excellence.

Why This Role Matters...

As a Senior Funeral Director, you will be responsible for team performance, development, and operational leadership, supporting the Cluster Manager in achieving business objectives. This role ensures consistent compliance, client satisfaction, and staff excellence, fostering a culture of empathy, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Your Impact and Responsibilities...

As a Senior Funeral Director, you lead by example, guiding families with empathy and professionalism, while supporting your team to do the same. You'll spend around 70% of your time delivering and overseeing services, and the rest managing the day-to-day operations of one or more branches, including the team.

You’ll be responsible for ensuring high standards of care, training, service delivery, and local marketing, creating a culture where your team is proud of the work they do and families feel informed, respected, and looked after.

As a Senior Funeral Director, you will:

• Deliver complex funeral arrangements with professionalism - ensuring all funeral arrangements are respectful, appropriate, and reflect the client's wishes.
• Oversee branch standards and ensure timely, high-quality care of the deceased.
• Participate in an out-of-hours on-call rota (including nights/weekends) to support families - providing out of hours support, including dignified collection and transfer of the deceased into care.
• Lead on recruitment, onboarding and ongoing performance reviews, undertaking regular 121's.
• Ensure back-of-house teams have responsibilities, and ensure seamless scheduling and service coordination.
• Support the Cluster Manager in overseeing branch performance, audits, and compliance processes.
• Identify service gaps and recommend improvements to processes and training.
• Take responsibility for ensuring funeral plan banks are replenished.
• Ensure all team members are Funeral Plan Consultant (FPC) trained.

Skills and Knowledge...

• Comfortable leading and motivating a team to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, presentation, and service delivery.
• Empathetic, service-oriented, and committed to excellent client outcomes.
• Understanding of the nature of the role and is prepared to assist families whenever needed, ensuring continuous care and operational effectiveness.
• Able to follow strict procedures, maintain accurate records, and ensure adherence to legal and company regulations.
• Confident working independently and thrives on delivering results.
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends and on-call.
• Understanding of operational efficiency, service offerings, and financial considerations within the funeral industry.

What We Offer...

• Professional development: A comprehensive induction plan and the opportunity to complete in-house development programmes to set you up for success or to pursue a qualification through our apprenticeship programme.
• Bonus Potential: Unlock the possibility of earning additional bonuses, rewarding your hard work and achievements.
• Life Assurance Cover: Enjoy peace of mind with our life assurance cover, securing your family's future.
• Health & Wellbeing Programme: Benefit from an employee assistance programme that supports your health and wellbeing.
• Holiday Allowance: Start with a generous leave entitlement of 33 days per year, inclusive of Bank Holidays.
• Pension Scheme: Plan for the future with our contributory pension scheme, helping you save for a secure retirement.

What are the next steps?

If this sounds like the right role for you and you’re ready to bring care and professionalism to an essential service, click the 'apply' button. A member of our Talent Acquisition Team will be in touch to guide you through the next steps.

About Us

We are Dignity, one of the UK's oldest and most trusted funeral providers, with over 200 years of history, 570 branches, and 46 crematoria across the country. From launching the UK's first funeral plan to helping shape modern regulation, we have led the way in supporting families with care, compassion, and professionalism.

We are now building the UK's leading end-of-life company. As part of the Dignity Group, we also operate Farewill, the country's most prominent will writer and one of the UK's top probate providers, giving families support not just at the funeral, but before and after as well.

Today, we are over 4,000 people across the UK, all driven by the same goal: to care for families with compassion and make the UK a world leader in end-of-life care. Here to help, whenever you need.

FCA Statement

Please note that this role is subject to meeting regulatory requirements. As an FCA-regulated organisation, we are committed to upholding the highest standards, which we achieve by employing individuals with the appropriate skills, experience, and integrity to protect both the company and our clients. If you are considered for a role, you will be asked to provide your permission for us to conduct the relevant checks and assessments that will be carried out during the recruitment and onboarding process. The nature of the checks will depend on whether the role is subject to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR).

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We know that diverse teams make better decisions, build better products, and create a more inclusive and better place to work. Whoever you are, wherever you're from, and whatever your life looks like, we'd love to hear from you. And if there's anything you need to make the process more accessible, please let us know.

Any unsolicited submissions from agencies will be accepted as a direct application from the candidate, and no fees will be payable. We reserve the right, depending on the number of applications received, to close or extend the closing dates for positions. Therefore, we recommend submitting your application as early as possible.