Senior Funeral Director

Position: Senior Funeral Director

Location: South East London. You’ll cover 4 branches across Bromley, Beckenham, Catford and Bexleyheath, with travel between sites.

Job Type: Full-Time, 38.33 Hours per week

Salary: £35,179.27 per annum + on-call payments

Lead by example, and be there when families need you most

As a Senior Funeral Director, you’ll guide families through one of the hardest times of their lives with empathy and professionalism and help your team do the same.

You’ll lead our Francis Chappell & Sons funeral homes in Bromley, Beckenham, Catford and Bexleyheath, carrying out around 600 funerals a year, and report to our South East London Cluster Manager. Your time will be split roughly 50/50: half conducting funerals yourself, and half supporting, coaching and developing the Funeral Directors and Funeral Service Specialists across your branches, so every family feels informed, respected and looked after.

The role at a glance: 4 branches • around 600 funerals a year • 50% conducting funerals, 50% leading your team

What you’ll do

• Conduct funerals, leading services with calm, care and dignity, and setting the standard for everyone around you
• Coach and manage your team, through regular 1:1s, on-the-job coaching, performance conversations and the day-to-day management of rotas, holiday cover and training
• Embed best practice and standards, running pre-funeral briefings and observing your team’s arrangements and funerals, so every branch delivers the same high standard of care
• Care for the people who have died, making sure everyone in our care is looked after with timely, respectful, high-quality care, and that records and legal documents are always accurate
• Lead community engagement, building relationships with care homes, celebrants, faith leaders and local groups, and supporting your Funeral Directors and Funeral Service Specialists to be known and trusted in their communities
• Promote Dignity and the wider business, making sure your team is confident talking with families about funeral plans and the full range of services across Life Services Group
• Be on call, sharing the duty phone with your team so families can reach us whenever someone dies, day or night

What you’ll bring

• Experience conducting funerals – this is essential, as you’ll be leading services from day one
• Experience leading, supervising or coaching others, whether as a Senior Funeral Director, deputising for a manager, or in another service-led role
• Confidence holding 1:1s, giving honest feedback and managing performance
• A genuine interest in the local community, and the confidence to represent us in it
• Strong planning, documentation and compliance skills
• Resilience and calm under pressure, with the confidence to make decisions and delegate
• A full UK driving licence, as you’ll be travelling between branches
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends, and to take your turn on call with the duty phone

Experience covering more than one branch, a background in funeral plan sales, or a funeral qualification such as the Dip.FD would be a bonus. You’ll find full details in the job description.

What you’ll get

• Time to recharge – 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, based on the hours you work, giving you valuable time to rest, recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Planning for your future – 4% matched pension to help you build long-term financial security.
• Everyday savings and perks – Access to MyStaffShop, our employee rewards platform, offering savings across high street and online retailers, alongside eyecare support, flu jab reimbursement and lifestyle discounts.
• Support when you need it – Access to a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, occupational health services and confidential counselling.
• Learn and grow with us – Ongoing training and development, including internal learning pathways and apprenticeship opportunities.
• Making work easier – Free on-site parking available at most of our 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.

Ready to lead by example? Click “Apply”, and a member of our Talent Acquisition Team will be in touch. Find your Life’s work.

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.