Funeral celebrant is an unusual job title, but an appropriate one, because what Fiona Sloman does is help bereaved families and friends to celebrate the lives of people they loved.

She visits them to talk about the deceased person, gently drawing them out to find out what they were like. Sometimes their home will give her clues for things to ask about.

Oxford-based Mrs Sloman then writes a funeral eulogy that describes their personality and the major events and achievements of their life; helps the family to choose readings and music; and delivers the oration at the funeral, whether it is held in a crematorium, cemetery, or woodland.

Her company is called Funerals Without God, because she offers a humanist ceremony as an alternative to a religious service that would not reflect the deceased person's beliefs and world view.

She said: "We are an increasingly secular society. It doesn't show any disrespect to not have a religious ceremony."

In the past 18 months she has delivered more than 30 funerals and no two have been the same.

"I write something that is appropriate for the person and the family. I've done one for an eco-warrior and one for a darts player. Everyone is different and everyone is interesting," she explained.

The emotion of the event often touches her, but it is her job to stay calm.

"You're hard put sometimes to hold it together, especially if the person who died was young. You have to be part of it, but professional as well."

Another aspect of this professionalism involves knowing the rules at the crematorium. For example, she has to take the CD of music, which she records herself, to be tested two days before the funeral.

Ceremonies must not overrun the time allotted, or they incur an extra charge. Mrs Sloman delivered the funeral of a young woman where many of the mourners were her friends.

"I could feel myself moved by the whole situation, because young people don't know how to deal with death.

"But I had to think of how to get them out of the chapel at the end."

She came up with the idea of asking them all to come up to the front to take away candles to light later while remembering their friend.

Woodland burials, which are increasing in popularity, present special challenges.

"You have to make sure your script's waterproof! And that you can be heard over the pounding rain. You have to adapt the script to reflect where you are."

It is this type of practical detail that may not occur to bereaved family members: "At the time someone has died it's important the family can hand the funeral over to another person," she added.

However, the event that eventually led to Mrs Sloman becoming a funeral celebrant was the death of her brother Malcolm three years ago, at the age of 42.

"I did his funeral for him, as I thought he would have wanted me to, as his big sister."

The funeral director complimented her on doing it so well, saying that, in his experience, family members often broke down. Then he asked whether she had thought of doing funerals for other people.

She knew she needed time to come to terms with her bereavement, but decided that she would train with the British Humanist Association to become an accredited celebrant.

The training, which takes six days, is thorough and rigorous. Aspiring celebrants even have to write a funeral oration about themselves, a sobering exercise.

They are assessed to ensure they have all the necessary personal qualities to undertake such a sensitive role.

Mrs Sloman's fee for delivering a funeral is £140 and she clearly does it because she has a vocation, rather than to make money.

She earns her living as an industrial relations consultant. Her main client at present is a major international facilities management company, but she also gives advice to individuals who have a problem at work, listening to their story and assessing whether they have a case.

"Many people are so alone now, because small companies tend not to have trades unions. They are left floundering without support."

She gained extensive experience of the whole range of employment-related issues in her previous career, which included 12 years as a national officer for the trade union Prospect, and also uses listening and negotiation skills she has developed as a trained counsellor and mediator.

Mrs Sloman is also a tutor for the Trades Union Congress and a trustee of Oxford Citizens' Advice Bureau. Do these apparently diverse aspects of her paid and voluntary working life have anything in common?

"The common thread is people. I'm fascinated by people. I just think they are interesting and I'd like to feel I'm of some help."