Senior Funeral Director

Role overview

This full-time Senior Funeral Director position is based at Highfield Funeral Directors in Huddersfield. The role runs for 38.33 hours each week and offers a salary of £34,342.15 per year. The position calls for someone compassionate, dependable, and committed to guiding families with sensitivity while upholding excellent service standards.

What the role involves

You will take a leading role in arranging funerals, supporting your team, and helping maintain strong relationships with local contacts and the community. The post combines hands-on service delivery with branch leadership, with roughly 70% of time spent delivering or overseeing services and the remainder focused on running one or more branches and supporting the team.

The aim of the role is to maintain high levels of client care, consistent compliance, strong team performance, and smooth daily operations. You will work closely with the Cluster Manager to help the business meet its objectives while building a culture of empathy, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Key duties

• Manage complex funeral arrangements carefully and professionally, making sure each service reflects the family’s wishes.
• Maintain branch presentation and service standards, including the respectful and timely care of the deceased.
• Join an out-of-hours on-call rota, covering nights and weekends, and support families when needed, including collection and transfer into care.
• Lead recruitment activity, onboarding, performance reviews, and regular one-to-one meetings.
• Make sure back-office teams have clear responsibilities and that scheduling and service coordination run smoothly.
• Assist the Cluster Manager with branch performance, audits, and compliance requirements.
• Spot service shortfalls and suggest practical improvements to processes and training.
• Ensure funeral plan banks are kept stocked and replenished.
• Confirm that all team members complete Funeral Plan Consultant training.

Skills and experience needed

The right candidate will be a confident team leader who can uphold high standards in presentation, professionalism, and service delivery. You should be empathetic, client-focused, comfortable working independently, and willing to step in wherever families need support.

You must be able to follow detailed procedures, keep accurate records, and work in line with legal and company rules. Flexibility for evenings, weekends, and on-call duties is essential, along with an understanding of operational efficiency, service delivery, and financial factors within the funeral sector.

Benefits

• Structured induction and access to in-house development programmes.
• Opportunity to work towards a qualification through the apprenticeship programme.
• Potential eligibility for performance-related bonuses.
• Life assurance cover.
• Employee assistance and wellbeing support.
• 33 days of annual leave, including Bank Holidays.
• Contributory pension scheme.

About the employer

Dignity is one of the UK’s longest-established and most trusted funeral providers, with more than 200 years of history, 570 branches, and 46 crematoria nationwide. The organisation has played a major role in the development of modern funeral planning and regulation.

As part of the wider Dignity Group, the business also includes Farewill, a leading will-writing and probate provider, extending support to families before and after the funeral itself. Across the UK, the organisation employs more than 4,000 people who share a commitment to compassionate end-of-life care.

Regulatory requirements

This role is subject to regulatory requirements. As an FCA-regulated organisation, the employer carries out appropriate checks and assessments during recruitment and onboarding. The exact checks depend on whether the role falls under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.

Equality and accessibility

The employer welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and values diverse teams. If any part of the process needs to be made more accessible, candidates are encouraged to request support.

Application notes

Applications may be closed early or kept open longer depending on the number received, so early submission is encouraged. Unsolicited agency submissions will be treated as direct candidate applications and no fee will be paid.