Funeral Home Manager

SCI Shared Resources•Lakewood, NJ

About The Position

Manage the daily operations of a single funeral home location and line of business. Foster ownership and pride among staff, manage costs, encourage profitable case volume growth, and achieve annual sales revenue, production, and Profit & Loss goals. The role includes short-term planning, developing an effective staff, and exceeding client family expectations. The Funeral Home Manager oversees financial management and daily operations, including budgets, schedules, expenditures, regulatory compliance, customer concerns, facilities, and operational improvements. The role also involves collaborating with market leadership, finance, corporate departments, and other stakeholders, and participating in community and promotional activities. The position may include receiving or initiating calls with the deceased’s next of kin, facilitating arrangement conferences with empathy, discussing available insurance and benefits, promoting funeral-related services and merchandise, and presiding over visitation, funeral, or graveside services. The manager also confirms authorization for arrangements and verifies personal belongings are removed from the deceased before burial according to the arrangements. The manager develops and coaches staff, supports career growth, promotes employee engagement, screens and hires or promotes employees, and recommends pay increases and career advancements. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. A funeral services or mortuary science technical diploma is preferred; a bachelor’s degree may be required by applicable state or provincial law. A funeral director license is required as prescribed by applicable law. At least five years of industry experience with increasing responsibility and at least two years guiding staff and communicating expectations are required. The role requires the ability to work evenings, nights, and weekends.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Funeral Director license as required by state or provincial law and prescribed by the applicable state board.
At least five years of industry experience with increasing responsibilities.
At least two years of experience guiding staff and communicating expectations.
Ability to work evenings, nights, and weekends.
Conversant in the funeral industry and financial acumen.
Proficiency with the MS Office suite.
Professional interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, and tactfulness when interacting with customers and resolving escalated issues.
Leadership skills and a desire to manage people.
Cognitive ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly and analytically, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, learn from experience, and apply learning to new situations.
Process- and results-oriented approach, with motivation to remove obstacles and explore alternatives to keep projects moving.
Ability to create clear presentations and data visualizations to support decision-making and problem analysis.
Positive attitude, motivation to advance understanding of the industry and business, and strong self-motivation.
Professional written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking, collaboration, and negotiation.
Proficient working knowledge of HMIS, InfoPort, and CarePoint.

Nice To Haves

Technical diploma in Funeral Services or Mortuary Science.
Bachelor’s degree in Mortuary Science or another degree as required by state or provincial law and prescribed by the applicable state board.
Prior experience managing people.
Budgeting and expense control experience.

Responsibilities

Work with Market Leadership to develop the annual business plan, budget, and financial, production, and revenue goals.
Prepare annual operational and personnel budgets; communicate company and market strategies, values, and goals to staff and translate goals into local action plans.
Monitor financial trends with the Finance Field Manager, approve expenditures and invoices, and manage overtime and expenses.
Manage day-to-day operations by communicating expectations, delegating work, setting priorities, and ensuring annual goals are achieved.
Review and revise schedules to ensure services are timely and exceed customer expectations; resolve escalated customer issues.
Ensure operations comply with applicable regulations, procedures, and policies.
Collaborate with local management, Market Leadership, and corporate departments on resource sharing, business enhancements, products, processes, technology, and operational improvements.
Participate in community, civic, and other organizations as part of local promotional efforts.
Maintain facilities and grounds in clean, manicured, and working order, budgeting for repairs to equipment and furniture.
Plan and implement annual initiatives that may affect resources or goals across locations; collaborate with stakeholders to understand business needs and constraints and negotiate solutions.
Identify and implement innovative solutions to improve efficiency and support change initiatives.
Receive or initiate calls to the deceased’s next of kin and facilitate arrangement conferences with concern and empathy, assessing needs and summarizing desired outcomes.
Discuss available life insurance and benefits, including veteran benefits, and promote funeral, cemetery, and crematory services and merchandise.
May preside as Master of Ceremonies for visitation, funeral, or graveside services in a professional, organized, and caring manner consistent with company standards.
Confirm authorization to proceed with service arrangements and verify that personal belongings are removed from the deceased before burial according to the arrangements.
Build a strong, trusting, and reliable team; provide oversight, guidance, coaching, feedback, and development tracking.
Understand team members’ career aspirations and provide assignments to develop skills or close gaps.
Use proactive and collaborative management to increase employee engagement and minimize turnover.
Screen candidates and hire or promote skilled staff; recommend pay increases, special pays, and career advancements.
Build effective business relationships across the organization.