Dawn Thornton

I am currently an Office Administrator in a busy, fast paced, primary school. My duties include:

• Assisted in maintaining school databases to ensure accuracy and up-to-date information at all times.
• Supported handling of sensitive and confidential data while adhering to strict GDPR policies.
• Acted as a point of contact for queries from parents and resolved issues promptly.
• Facilitated communication with parents regarding student issues related to behaviour, attendance, and academic challenges.
• Helped maintain positive relationships with parents, governors, staff, students, and stakeholders.
• Assisted in coordinating school events to enhance community engagement.
• Managed budget, invoicing, and petty cash effectively.
• Utilised various IT systems, including MIS, Outlook, and Microsoft packages.

I began my career with Yorkshire Water in the contact centre, handling customer correspondence via telephone and written communication. I progressed to the role of Deputy Team Manager before moving into the Customer Care team, where I specialised in managing complex billing complaints across multiple channels, including telephone (including escalations to Ofwat), letter, and webchat.

A key aspect of my role involved providing feedback and guidance to colleagues where complaints arose due to errors, as well as proactively supporting contact centre staff with advice and coaching to help prevent complaints from escalating.

My responsibilities included:

• Conducting thorough investigations into all aspects of customer complaints, ensuring fair and balanced resolutions for both the customer and the business.
• Delivering high standards of customer service while managing challenging situations and de-escalating complex cases.
• Collaborating with internal stakeholders to resolve dispute effectively within defined SLA targets.
• Maintaining accurate and detailed records of all customer interactions, ensuring full transparency and compliance.
• Adhering strictly to regulatory and company guidelines throughout the complaint handling process.
• Identifying and supporting vulnerable customers, ensuring they were registered for appropriate services and received additional support where needed.
• Using a variety of systems including ICE and Yorbill.

I worked for a contractor of Yorkshire Water. I raised jobs for repairs, arranged backfill and reinstatements. Used the mapping system to check the location of other utilities in the carriageway and for road closures.