Lead Funeral Home Administrative Assistant

Foundation Partners Group•Edmonds, WA

About The Position

The Lead Funeral Home Administrative Assistant oversees administrative operations and supports funeral home staff, leaders, funeral directors, and customers. The role includes office administration, bookkeeping, accounts receivable and payable, product and document tracking, service paperwork, staff coordination, and quality control of family-facing materials. The position leads administrative assistants, helps ensure work is completed accurately and promptly, and identifies process improvements to increase efficiency and accountability. The Lead Administrative Assistant also coordinates staffing, onboarding, training, scheduling, coaching, and development; supports regular staff meetings; and ensures company learning assignments and required systems are used. The role maintains office equipment and supplies, helps keep the café and work areas presentable, and ensures funeral service documents and processes comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Demonstrated empathy, emotional intelligence, and a Servant Leadership mindset with internal and external stakeholders.
High attention to detail and accuracy, with excellent follow-up skills.
Strong communication skills and high levels of compassion and integrity.
Ability to lead and support the customer interaction experience.
Ability to work cohesively with a supervisor and build strong relationships with peers and direct reports.
Ability to collect funds from past-due accounts.

Nice To Haves

A degree in business is preferred.
Three to five years of office and customer service experience in the funeral industry is preferred.
At least one year of leadership experience is preferred.
Knowledge of and experience in funeral service are preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintain regular two-way communication with the home office accountant and department leaders, including finance, human resources, and IT.
Order, track, deliver, and maintain products and documents.
Assist administrative assistants, location leaders, and funeral directors in completing open tasks promptly.
Monitor accounts receivable, claims, credit balances, delinquencies, collection attempts, account closures, and approved write-offs.
Ensure funeral service delivery tasks are completed professionally and promptly, including cremation permits, death certificate filing, trust delivery documentation, and case file maintenance.
Manage accounts receivable processes, including receipt book and deposit policy compliance, accurate posting of receipts, and resolution of unapplied cash.
Update the funeral home website with service and other information as it becomes available.
Manage accounts payable processes with the accounting team, including vendor setup, maintenance of vendor files and insurance documents, accurate coding and submission of payables, and resolution of discrepancies.
Identify process improvement opportunities and develop methods with the manager of administration and location leader to improve efficiency and accountability and control costs.
Complete monthly and quarterly administrative processes, including inventory, P-Card reconciliation, and month- and quarter-end activities.
Lead weekly update meetings with administrative assistants and location leaders to share resources and ensure goals are met.
Create family-facing materials, including video tributes, memorial books, service folders and programs, obituaries, and other forms, using the required format and applicable software.
Proof published materials for accuracy and grammar and provide quality control for printed materials.
Handle assigned components of month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close.
Maintain office equipment and routinely maintain and order office supplies.
Keep the office work area, including direct reports’ areas, presentable.
Learn to operate new office technologies as they are developed and implemented.
Ensure self and direct reports complete company-assigned learning, including compliance assignments such as OSHA, FTC, and harassment prevention.
Lead administrative assistants to ensure organizational components are completed accurately and on time.
Support coordination of and participate in assigned staff meetings.
Ensure the café is ready and assist with cleanliness and stocking supplies.
Oversee staffing to meet business needs, including onboarding and training new hires, scheduling, coaching, development, and communication about performance.
Ensure death certificates, obituaries, permits, and other required paperwork are completed promptly and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
Ensure self and direct reports use company-provided systems and technology, including arrangement conference technology for reviewing contracts and completing required forms.