Q and As with Daniel, our Direct Payments Team Lead

A image of Daniel. You can see his head and shoulders, and he’s got a small smile on his face!

Daniel has recently been promoted to Direct Payment Team Lead. Congratulations Daniel! So we grabbed him for a quick Q and A Session.

What is your role at Disability North and how long have you worked here?
Direct Payments Team Lead. I started in February 2023 as Personalisation Advisor before being
promoted to my current role in June 2023.

Can you tell us what the promotion means to you?
It means a lot. I believe what we do as a team makes a huge difference to the individuals we
support, so to have the opportunity to lead and improve our service over time, is something that
I am very passionate about.

What’s your favourite thing about your job?
This would be the people we work with. Everyone has their own story and own support
requirements, so getting to know each person or family over a period of time is very enjoyable.
I’m going to add another favourite here, and that is being able to come up with new ways
of improving our processes internally, meaning we can offer an even better service.

What is the most difficult thing about your job?
The workload is challenging and can mean we don’t always get to meet everyone’s expectations
in as timely a manor as I would like. We do our best though, and I think people recognise and
appreciate that.

What are you most proud to have achieved in your job?
Two things. Firstly, getting promoted to Team Lead after only being in the advisor
role for a few months. Alongside this, I am proud to have supported an individual to reduce their
contribution to care costs by almost 90%.

Disability North pride themselves on being an inclusive employer. What does that mean to you?
I think this was apparent to me from my very first contact regarding the Direct Payment Advisor
role. Having an employer who has such a strong understanding of disability and the need for a
flexible approach for employees is very reassuring. I know that my PAs are accepted and
welcomed too, which means I can get the very best out of my own support and therefore thrive
in my role.