Head of Division

Head of Division

Working flexibly, 5 days per week

40 hours per week

Competitive salary + Car allowance + Bonus + Benefits

Permanent role

Division covers Midlands / North / Scotland – work from home + regular weekly travel required throughout these areas.

Have you always wanted to use your transferable leadership skills in a role where what you do can truly make a difference every day?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

We are the largest independent operator of crematoria in the UK, employing more than 500 empathetic and dedicated individuals and we are growing.

Like many of our employees, you might not have considered our industry before, however with ongoing growth, investment in your development and colleagues who care deeply about what they do, you will find this one of the most varied and rewarding opportunities you could ever imagine.

About the role:

Reporting to the Managing Director, the Head of Division is accountable for delivering the business growth strategy. You will lead around 15 Crematorium Managers and a Divisional Operations Manager in your division so your leadership, coaching and development skills are an integral part of this role.

Your guidance will help your Managers to make informed local commercial decisions, deliver exceptional customer service and create growth proposals which are beneficial for both the customer and business.

Travel will be a regular part of the role as your division will mainly cover the Midlands / North and into Scotland.

The services we provide continue to change and adapt to the ever-growing call for more choice when it comes to a final goodbye, so there will be plenty of opportunity to use your ideas and creativity whilst looking at future business strategy.

You will be a proud Westerleigh ambassador, networking and raising the company’s profile at internal and external events, with a primary focus on driving exceptional care across the division through leadership, site manager development and general management of your designated business area.

You will be responsible for the financial and operational performance of your division. Taking ownership for health and safety, cost control, budgeting, growth opportunities, business development and ensuring standards of quality and compliance. Lead and drive business change that delivers expected measurable outcomes. Share best practice and work collaboratively with other business areas and the other Heads of Division.

The detail:

Exceptional Care

• Leveraging your strong commercial expertise will help drive your Division’s growth, allowing more families to experience the exceptional care and high level of service that Westerleigh is known for.
• Across the Westerleigh Group, ensure exceptional care is delivered through all aspects of the customer journey – pre, during and post the funeral.
• Ensure facilities, grounds and buildings are maintained to the highest of standards and are fit for purpose.
• Monitor customer feedback and deal with any escalated customer feedback.
• Always lead the team to put safety first.
• Promote and advocate engagement with the local community, maintaining Westerleigh Group vision and values in any activity.
• Be an advocate and ambassador for Westerleigh Group with business partners.

Business

• Drive and deliver commercial performance (including sales, cost control and profit against budget) - including undertaking site reviews and reporting of site performance against budget and KPI’s.
• Alongside the Managing Director, agree annual pricing activities.
• Support Group projects, as required – particularly any development projects / new site openings within the division and other operational improvements, leading the change management for teams impacted.
• Prepare business cases for significant capex spend for approval by the capex committee.
• Identify business development opportunities within the division and work with relevant stakeholders to gain buy in and deliver change.
• Develop strong external relationships with industry bodies and networks, advocating and promoting Westerleigh Group and Distinct Cremations.
• Develop relationships with Funeral Directors and future customers to support business growth opportunities.

People

• Exercise leadership in a style and manner consistent with the Westerleigh Group vision, values and behaviours.
• Support the development of direct reports through coaching and providing learning and development opportunities.
• Ensure communication is robust and effective with site teams and the wider divisional team and work closely and collaboratively with all Westerleigh Group supporting functions.
• Establish divisional recruitment and retention plans and promote a culture that engages colleagues and celebrates their achievements and deliver via the Divisional Operations Manager.

Quality

• Ensure the highest standards of quality in compliance and services.
• Contribute to the sharing of knowledge & sharing of best practice
• Adopt and promote a continuous improvement mindset, supporting the drive to deliver innovation and improved practice for the division and wider business.

About you

• An accomplished leader of people with a history of developing teams to success.
• Commercial acumen is a strength.
• Excellent relationship and stakeholder management skills.
• Bereavement sector experience e.g. Funeral / Crematorium leadership background or similar is not essential. If you have strong leadership experience from another industry e.g. Retail, then we can teach you all you need to know about our uniquely personal industry.
• Happy to travel regularly throughout your division and for networking events. If you have managed regional teams and worked as an Area Manager / Head of Area / Head of Region / Regional Manager / Operations Manager / Operations Director / Head of Operations then you may have the transferable skills we are looking for.

• Confident communicator.
• Ability to build strong relationships with customers and local communities to build on our presence and raise awareness of the exceptional service we provide.

What We Offer

If you would like to join the Westerleigh team, you can be sure of a warm welcome, ongoing training and development and a sense of pride by truly make a difference every day to the families that we serve.

No two days are the same and many of our Managers have developed their careers within the business.

The values we champion are Safety First, Exceptional Care, Uniquely Personal and One Team.

In addition to salary, you will also be eligible for the following benefits:

• Performance bonus
• Car allowance
• 33 days holiday (Includes 8 days bank holiday)
• Life Assurance
• A choice between 7% employer pension contribution or 5% contribution + private healthcare cover
• Access to a wide range of retail discounts and wellbeing support
• Ongoing learning & development
• Employee Assistance / Occupational health support Program
• Mindfulness App
• Mental Health First Ambassadors
• The benefit we hope you’ll never need: Free Cremation benefit for Immediate family
• Bereavement Leave
• Enhanced maternity & paternity pay
• Recognition scheme
• Free Flu jab
• Smart uniform and PPE provided
• Free parking