Funeral Service Manager Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Are you searching for a funeral service manager job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a funeral service manager. Feel free to use our funeral service manager job description template to produce your own funeral service manager job description. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a funeral service manager.
Who is a Funeral Service Manager?
Funeral service managers are experts who have received training in managing the daily activities of a funeral home enterprise. They carry out a wide range of tasks, including organizing and allocating the funeral home’s resources, supervising workers, and managing marketing and public relations. A funeral service manager is essential in ensuring that a client’s end-of-life decisions regarding burial or cremation, or service or celebration, are carried out. To guarantee that the service is a dignified and fitting celebration of the person’s life, they also collaborate with the deceased’s family and friends. These managers take care of the funeral’s logistics, such as staying within the set funeral budget or providing quotes for the cost of the service and other goods. These managers must be outstanding communicators since they also meet with the family and friends to discuss the funeral’s specifics, gather the obituary, choose any necessary caskets or urns, and organize the services. They would also inform customers about the different services the funeral home offers, products, and prices when working with any decision-makers surrounding the service. They manage the daily activities of running a funeral home and the workers in addition to organizing the service. Cosmetologists who prepare the corpse for an open-casket viewing are just one example of the vendors they would work closely with if they were giving services to the deceased and their family.
As a funeral service manager, mortician, or undertaker you will serve as a link between individuals who want to make funeral arrangements and those who have recently lost a loved one and are seeking closure. In addition to a wide range of other duties, morticians and undertakers may assist customers with resolving insurance claims, applying for veterans’ funeral benefits, setting up transportation for mourners, decorating the locations of the events, and finding resources for coping with bereavement. Funeral directors supervise the everyday operations of a funeral home, including budgeting, handling marketing and public relations, and supervising personnel. Those who want to work in the funeral business need an associate’s degree in mortuary science. Except for Colorado, all states require funeral directors and embalmers to have licenses. Additionally, it is required of funeral service personnel to complete a 1-3 year apprenticeship under the supervision of a qualified funeral service professional. Within 24 to 72 hours of death, you could be required to plan funeral arrangements as a funeral service employee. This means that many funeral service employees will have to work erratic, long hours in the evenings and on weekends. The labour is never fully finished for those who work in funeral services. As a mortician, undertaker, or funeral director, you’ll be a part of a thriving, expanding sector that helps individuals in need by offering essential services.
Management of funeral services is a rewarding and significant career path. Those who operate in this sector have the honour of supporting grieving families and giving respect to the deceased. Many people who work in this field do so out of a sense of obligation to the deceased, making sure that their final requests for resting place and memorialization are respected. Professionals like the opportunity to interact with a wide range of people because this line of work deals directly with families and the community. While there are other methods to become more knowledgeable about the field and get ready for a career change, earning a degree in funeral service management can have outstanding short- and long-term benefits. You can often get on-the-job training from experts with vast expertise by working in the industry. To improve your expertise and position yourself for a better career, you can work toward earning your degree in funeral service management concurrently. You must be able to accurately coordinate extremely complex, time-consuming duties if you want to succeed as a funeral service manager. In the end, a great burial service manager will be conscious of cultural customs around death.
Funeral Service Manager Job Description
What is a funeral service manager job description? A funeral service manager job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a funeral service manager in an organization. Below are the funeral service manager job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a funeral service manager job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The jobs and duties of a funeral service manager include the following:
- Consult the deceased’s family or friends to make funeral arrangements, such as the wording of the obituary notice, the choice of casket, or the schedule of services.
- Give customers technical or procedural advice.
- Take charge of supervising the work of embalmers, funeral directors, death certificate clerks, cosmetologists, or other employees.
- Oversee the activities of other funeral employees
- Plan memorial services, burials, or cremations.
- Plan your time or how you’ll use the space.
- Sell customers services, goods, or merchandise related to funerals.
- Promote goods, services, or initiatives.
- Observe funeral service operations to ensure they abide by relevant policies, rules, and laws.
- Observe how well your organization complies with the law.
- Provide advice and solace to the surviving loved ones and friends of the departed.
- Contract negotiations for pre-planned funeral services.
- Negotiate contracts for the sale or lease of goods or services.
- Address customer complaints, legal questions, payment discussions, or other post-service issues.
- Address consumer grievances or issues.
- Plan and put into action adjustments to service provisions to meet community requirements or boost funeral home profits.
- Implement alterations to organizational procedures or policies.
- Create operational plans, strategies, or guidelines.
- Oversee or control funeral establishments’ administrative, support, repair, or maintenance needs.
- Direct upkeep or repair of the facility.
- Set the hours that funeral home or contract staff will work.
- Create work assignments or staff schedules.
- Establish financial objectives for funeral service businesses, such as sales or marketing targets, and track your success as you approach them.
- Create organizational objectives or goals.
- Explain to staff members the objectives, rules, or processes.
- Disseminate the policies and practices of the company.
- Complete and keep track of paperwork such as product inventories, tracking documents, and documentation required by the state.
- Keep track of operations.
- Create reports on compliance-related topics.
- Evaluate the performance of suppliers, contract workers, or other service providers to guarantee quality and cost-effectiveness.
- Observe how partners or other members of the organization perform.
- Set prices or credit conditions for funeral goods or services.
- Decide on price or monetary policy.
- Interview and hire new personnel.
- Speak with coworkers, clients, or others to garner information.
- Examine financial records, sales or activity reports, or other performance data to find chances for cost savings or service enhancements.
- Analyze data to guide operational choices or actions.
- Analyze financial records to increase effectiveness.
- Determine the staff members of the funeral home’s skill development needs.
- Participate in or give presentations at local events to market funeral home services or foster community connections.
- Develop interpersonal business partnerships to make work activities easier.
- Plan and carry out marketing campaigns, such as sales promotions, to support funeral home operations.
- Implement alterations to organizational procedures or policies.
- Create marketing strategies or plans.
- Analyze market trends and business trends.
- Analyze the results of market research.
Qualifications
- An associate’s degree in mortuary science, funeral service management or related field.
- A track record of exceptional managing funeral services.
- Getting business-related honours is beneficial.
- Excellent management, delegation, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to provide families with discreet assistance.
- Highly skilled in grief counselling while carefully taking into account the constraints of unlicensed practices.
- Ability to understand difficult grief.
- Excellent referral skills.
Essential Skills
- Organizational skills: It’s crucial to possess excellent organizing abilities as a funeral service manager. You frequently have to do several activities at once, which is why. You might be in charge of, among other things, arranging appointments, managing personnel schedules, and dealing with customer service difficulties. Your ability to prioritize your chores and complete them quickly depends on your organizing skills.
- Leadership skills: You can oversee a group of experts in the funeral industry by using your leadership abilities. You can be in charge of managing the workforce at a funeral home as well as its daily operations as a funeral service manager. Your team will be more productive if you can motivate them, assign tasks, and promote professional growth.
- Communication skills: The act of communicating involves transferring information orally, in writing, or through other means. You can be in charge of communicating with customers, coworkers, and other stakeholders as a funeral service manager. You can better answer inquiries and transmit information by using effective communication. You can use communication to explain to your team what your goals are for the funeral home.
- Customer service skills: Being able to communicate with consumers helpfully and politely is known as customer service. You can be in charge of communicating with families and other people who need help as a funeral service manager. You may communicate with people more effectively and give them the information they require by having good customer service abilities.
- Emotional stability: Emotional control is necessary for funeral directors to provide their clients with excellent service. Even though mourners are overpowered by their grief, they can need to be strong.
- Time-management skills: Planning funerals take place reasonably quickly after a death and before interment. Time management skills are necessary for funeral service managers to guarantee that all planning for funerals is done properly.
- Teamwork: Managers of funeral services interact with a variety of people, including pathologists, transporters, government officials, and embalmers. To ensure that funeral plans go smoothly, they need to be good collaborators.
- Compassion and empathy: The capacity for empathy is the capacity to comprehend and experience another’ emotions. Managers of funeral homes interact with bereaved families and operate in gloomy settings. Empathy can make it easier for you to connect with your staff and clients as a funeral service manager. You could use empathy, for instance, to support a bereaved family member or assist a team member in overcoming a personal loss. Managers of funeral homes must have the compassion to comfort the bereaved while performing their tasks effectively.
How to Become a Funeral Service Manager
Step 1. Education
A minimum of an associate’s degree in funeral service, mortuary science, or a closely related discipline is often needed of funeral service managers. Some companies favour hiring applicants with a bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, including public administration or business administration. Depending on the criteria in your state, formal schooling might not be necessary. Obtain training in one of the nearby funeral houses. A license may be obtained after completing an apprenticeship. However, the majority of funeral houses only offer training to individuals with official education credentials. You might, however, always try your luck with nearby funeral houses. To work as a funeral service manager, complete an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program in mortuary sciences. Program lengths range from two to four years. Community colleges offer associate degree programs from schools that have received ABFSE (American Board of Funeral Service Education) accreditation. You will get knowledge of business law, ethics, grief processes, and the fundamentals of body preparation
Step 2. Training and Experience
Most managers of funeral services have at least five years of expertise in the field. Before moving up to executive positions, several have held careers as embalmers or funeral directors. Others start as embalming technicians or funeral service helpers before moving on to management. When seeking training and education, try to get appropriate work experience. Start working as a funeral home administrator in your neighbourhood if you don’t have much experience in office administration. Try to work in a setting where you can process death and grief. Before moving up to management positions, some funeral service managers complete on-the-job training in entry-level roles. Others transition into managing funeral homes after working in other fields.
Step 3. Certifications & Licenses
In several states, funeral directors must be licensed to oversee funeral services. State-specific requirements differ, but the majority call for candidates to complete education through a recognized school and pass a test. To become a licensed funeral service manager in some states, a person must finish an apprenticeship at any nearby funeral home. You will get the opportunity to work at a funeral home and be supervised by a licensed funeral director while you are learning. Keep in mind that getting solid recommendations is important. States have different licensing requirements. To find out the duty in any state, contact ABFSE. You must pass the test that is unique to each state and is assigned there. Complete the license exam after thorough preparation. The exam is often written electronically and consists of multiple-choice questions. As soon as your exams are over, you will get your results.
Step 4: Apply to Available Job
Search for open positions and apply for the ones that appeal to you. Keep in mind that helping the bereaved and their families is rewarding because you are helping them get through difficult times.
Where to Work as a Funeral Service Manager
Funeral services managers are employed by funeral homes, where they are in charge of running the facility daily. To fulfill the wishes of the deceased’s family, they collaborate closely with funeral directors on all facets of the funeral service. Managers of the funeral service also coordinate with the family of the deceased to plan the funeral ceremony and make plans for the burial or cremation of the body. Managing the funeral home’s personnel and financial resources may also fall within their purview. To meet the demands of the families they serve, funeral service managers may be needed to work evenings and weekends in addition to their regular full-time schedules. For emergencies, they might also be accessible round-the-clock.
Funeral Service Manager Salary Scale
In Nigeria, the average monthly salary for a service manager is approximately 392,000 NGN. Salary ranges from 208,000 NGN to 596,000 NGN, highest to lowest. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a funeral service manager makes an average annual pay of $79,180. The position requires the capacity to manage delicate situations, such as consoling the families or friends of the deceased and negotiating the burial contract. You can obtain a cross-country practising license and target the high-paying areas to improve your salary. Your compensation is probably going to rise as you gain more experience. Salary ranges for funeral service managers greatly depend on factors such as geography, gender, experience, and talents.
