Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

David McDonald

Bromley,Kent

Summary

NEC Housing user since September 2023, with a proven track record of supporting colleagues to navigate the system, to identify critical data needed to collect Rent and reconcile accounts.

Overview

21
21
years of professional experience
14
14
years of post-secondary education

Work history

Accommodation Income Officer

Croydon Council
Croydon, Surrey
09.2023 - 09.2025
  • User Acceptance Training (UAT):
  • In June 2024, I successfully undertook UAT for Jem Bowen to ensure all Rent Charges were correctly applied for all periods where there had previously been gaps in the charges.
  • This work resulted in all charges being amended, so Residents were made liable for the correct amount of Rent
  • Training guides to help colleagues use the NEC Housing system:
  • How to change patches – This helped people to re-assign Income Patch cases to the correct Income Officer
  • How to use Power BI to download Patch List – This allowed colleagues to navigate Power BI, slicing and filtering reports to locate and download their own list of tenants' Rent accounts
  • How to identify schemes – a guide to show colleagues how to navigate the list under the “Expand” button to easily see which under which scheme a Rent account was listed
  • Assisting Faisal Mahmood, Housing Income Control Manager with reconciling Refunds:
  • On at least 6 occasions in May, July & September 2025, Faisal asked me to ensure that NECH was correctly debited to reflect credits issued on Oracle.
  • This involved reviewing the Rent account “Transactions” screen to make sure there was a corresponding “RFD” refund debit and create these debits where needed.
  • This work ensured that the Housing budget was correctly balanced, so accurate refund data can be reported to budget holders
  • Collecting Rent for Residents placed in emergency & temporary accommodation: Collected £10,762.65 in card payments over the phone
  • Maximising income through completing Housing Benefit applications face to face with Residents: 216 forms completed since October 2024, 256 meetings in total to assist Residents with their Rent arrears issues
  • Responding to Residents' emails: 3011 emails dealt with
  • Answering Residents' phone calls: 272 inbound calls dealt with

Personal Enablement Support Officer

Croydon Council
07.2015 - 09.2023
  • Adapted to a home working model to continue delivering services to Residents remotely during the pandemic.
  • Trained in awarding emergency living expenses, including food bank referrals, supermarket eVouchers and gas & electricity top ups.
  • Cross-skilling in awarding Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) to clear rent arrears and ongoing rental top ups.
  • Training others in negotiating Council Tax arrangements, incorporating collection outcomes with DHP support.
  • Weekly administration tasks including work planning, running reports on payment collection and work flow.

Discretionary Support Officer (Secondment)

Croydon Council
04.2015 - 06.2023
  • Listening: all applicants had a story and needed someone to listen to them
  • Assessing & deciding: which of these customers needed our help, based on the circumstances they outlined on the phone and in their written applications
  • Verifying: requesting evidence, such as bank statements and discussing these with customers.
  • Awarding discretionary funds: I was solely responsible for paying rental deposits & rents in advance for customers, some of whom were street homeless
  • Building relationships: with customers, landlords and social housing companies
  • Supporting: helping my team award food vouchers, carpets, white goods, beds and other essential items to customers. I also provided phone cover for the team to ensure continuity of service.

Revenues Assistant (Council Tax)

Croydon Council
03.2008 - 03.2015
  • Listening: working as a call centre operative, answering a wide range of customer queries both on the phone and in writing
  • Deciding: who should be responsible for Council Tax
  • Assessing: discounts & exemptions, ensuring customers pay the right amount of tax
  • Negotiating: agreeing suitable arrangements over the phone and face to face at court
  • Empathising: finding alternative solutions for those customers in genuine need.

Revenues Officer (Council Tax)

Capita Business Services Ltd
09.2005 - 03.2008
  • I assessed Council Tax discounts and exemptions to ensure Residents paid the right amount of Council Tax.
  • I dealt with a wide range of Resident contacts via email and the telephone.
  • I met with Residents at the Magistrates' court to agree affordable payment plans, often in lieu of the Resident appearing in the court room. I took a lead role selecting and coordinating offers and arranging transport to and from the court when asked.
  • I primarily worked on the Lambeth Council Tax contract, but also worked with South Buckinghamshire & Mid Sussex District Councils to address customer contacts and assist with a Single Person Discount review, respectively.

Cashier

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Ltd
11.2004 - 09.2005
  • I delivered excellent customer service to our customers on the checkouts.
  • Many customers commented on my polite, positive and enthusiastic demeanour as I scanned their shopping and took payment with a smile via cash, cheque and card, offering cashback where applicable and applying any voucher discounts.

Education

GCSEs - English Language, ICT & Business Studies

Darrick Wood Secondary School
Orpington, Bromley
09.1998 - 07.2005

A-Levels - English Literature, Performance Studies & Media Studies

Darrick Wood Secondary School
Orpington, Bromley
09.1998 - 07.2005

Skills

  • Strong written communication
  • Client-Focused approach
  • Resilience to stressful situations
  • Tactful negotiation

Timeline

Accommodation Income Officer

Croydon Council
09.2023 - 09.2025

Personal Enablement Support Officer

Croydon Council
07.2015 - 09.2023

Discretionary Support Officer (Secondment)

Croydon Council
04.2015 - 06.2023

Revenues Assistant (Council Tax)

Croydon Council
03.2008 - 03.2015

Revenues Officer (Council Tax)

Capita Business Services Ltd
09.2005 - 03.2008

Cashier

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Ltd
11.2004 - 09.2005

GCSEs - English Language, ICT & Business Studies

Darrick Wood Secondary School
09.1998 - 07.2005

A-Levels - English Literature, Performance Studies & Media Studies

Darrick Wood Secondary School
09.1998 - 07.2005

Similar Profiles

Create profile
David McDonald