Senior Bereavement Services Officer

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About the role

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS AT NORTH NORTHANTS COUNCIL ONLY

The role contributes to a high quality and effective Service within the Council's Bereavement Services functions which includes the provision of burials and cremations at Warren Hill Crematorium and 13 working cemeteries.

This post is a multi-functional role. While the key role is to ensure that all functions within the post level of responsibility are carried out in accordance with statutory requirements, the individual will be a team player able to cover other roles within the service. The post is full time and based at Warren Hill Crematorium.

The post holder will have a primary service focus on an area of Bereavement Services responsibility and will provide support to the Bereavement Services Manager and line manage a team of Bereavement Services Officers to ensure that a modern, forward thinking, and compliant service is delivered; achieving relevant outcomes in this area undertaking appropriate learning and development to enable delivery of such outcomes.

You will prepare, complete and review statutory documentation relating to all services relating to Bereavement Services, and to ensure all databases and records are kept up to date. To attend services and act as conduit between the families, funeral directors, and grounds maintenance. To promote the sales of memorials and services and products offered by the Service and ensure that Payments are properly processed. To act as Deputy, Register of Burials and Cremations. To ensure that the cremators are used by all officers effectively and efficiently to ensure they are operated in a safe and legal manner, adhering to relevant legislation including environmental protection requirements, and to provide advice and guidance to all parties contacting Bereavement Services.

Bereavement Services currently include cremations, burials, and all services associated with these functions. The service is continuously developing and therefore this offer may change over time.

What will you be doing?

Lead a successful team of officers to ensure that all duties are carried out in accordance with all current legislation, guidance and best practice including accurate record keeping in line with policies and procedures.

Maintain all databases and systems for appointments and statutory paperwork for services and prepare papers for Medical Referee where necessary and ensure they are kept up to date

Ensure that all ceremony and room duties are completed in accordance with the requirements of the service and provide advice and support to service users as necessary.

Make arrangements with the Maintenance Contractors for servicing and repair of service equipment including the cremators.

Carry out appropriate administration functions including covering reception, processing documentation, answering the telephone and other duties as considered suitable by the Bereavement Services Manager.

Make all necessary arrangements for the disposal of the dead as required by the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984, and the recovery of costs wherever possible.

Ensure that the highest standards of cleanliness are maintained throughout all Bereavement Services sites including cleaning ceremony rooms, the crematory, customer facilities and all other areas internally and externally as required.

Deputise for the Bereavement Services Manager during periods of leave, etc.

Attend services to verify details as required, receive statutory documentation where necessary and ensure that the wishes of service users are met.

Carry out inspections of memorials to ensure compliance with health and safety standards and current guidance

Work with stakeholders and partners to ensure the effective delivery of the service. These include but are not restricted to;

Internal: Members and Officers of the council, including the Medical Referee, grounds maintenance.

External: Members of the public, Coroner's Office, Staff of Kettering General Hospital, Funeral Directors, North and West Northamptonshire County Registration Service, Memorial/ crematorium equipment companies.

About you

You will have significant experience of burial and cremation administration with current knowledge of burial and cremation processes. You will have knowledge of current medical referee processes and experience of cremation and cremator operations.

You will hold the Diploma of the Institute of Burial & Cremation Administration, the Crematorium Technicians Training Scheme Certificate or Diploma in Funeral Directing with minimum of pass in GCSE English and math's or equivalent

You will be familiar with a customer facing environment, where you are competent in the use of databases, have dealt with a range of time pressured tasks and issues demonstrating an ability to work to tight deadlines and be flexible in work approaches.

You will be able to provide evidence of continual professional development and demonstrate excellent communication skills and level of written and oral communication and IT user skills.

You will have knowledge and experience of how to effect cultural and behavioural change, developing high performing teams and be ready to deliver service planning knowledge and experience, developing strong line management skills.

You will pride yourself on your ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with a wide range of customers, stakeholders, and partners, showing a caring attitude to customers and able to support our diverse range of customers.

You are able to travel around the county, including at short notice and able to work outside of normal working hours, including evenings and weekends.

You have an awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people's behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs. In so doing, you will show an understanding of the safe working practices that apply to this role.

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we're transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You'll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 which highlights the Council's pledge to support the Armed Forces community. The council obtained the silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now currently working towards achieving Gold status.

We aim to be a carbon neutral Council by 2030.

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)