An ISO consultant, is an individual who provides consultancy services regarding the international standards of organizations (ISO). What is the purpose of ISO? The International Organization of Standardization was created as an independent body of non-governmental agencies and leaders with 167 member agencies as of 2021. ISO members work together to develop standards based on best practices that encure the quality, safety and efficiency of products, services and systems.
These ISO standards are then recommend for adoption and use by other entities to demonstrate to end users, customers, clients and benificiaries that the organization has achieved high standards of quality, safety and efficiency. Generally speaking, the adoption of ISO standards are optional or voluntary, with the exception of references made to them within specific EU Directives. When ISO Standards are specifically referenced in EU Directives, they are mandatory
The ISO consultant must have clear and thorough ideas on the subject, since any single fault would result in heavy losses for the client organization and may even cause closure of the firm. Hence, an ISO consultant needs to execute serious job responsibilities, for which he must not only know his subject well but should also be skilled in effective application of the knowledge.
ISO Consultant Job Responsibilities
- The ISO consultant must have expert knowledge of the ISO standard for which he/she/they are advising and expert knowledge of the industry sector in which they work
- The primary job responsibility of an ISO consultant is to provide assistance to clients and customers regarding the international standards to be maintained in respective organizations.
- The ISO consultant helps his/her/their client create documents aligned to the required standards, specifications, guidelines or characteristics so that the client can obtain ISO certification.
- The ISO consultant must help organizations develop such policies that comply with the international standards set by the State or concerned agencies and authorities and also be effective in earning profits.
- The operational procedures and techniques of organizations must be of the best possible quality and the ISO consultant must assist companies with required resources so as to help manage the best standards of quality within the organizational structure.
- The ISO consultant must be able in maintaining a systematized framework within the client organization, wherein the policies are to be designed as per international standards.
- It is the job responsibility of an ISO consultant to develop such programs that effectively address the financial requirements of organizations, compromising neither with the quality nor with the State regulations. The internal audit procedures need to be overseen and managed by ISO consultants.
- The ISO consultant must have thorough knowledge of the application mechanisms of the processes as per ISO standards. The various versions of the ISO strictures must be well-known by the consultant and put in the proper places – be it on-the-job or for documentation purposes.
In closing, the main goal of an ISO Consultant is to:
Help its clients achieve ISO certification which certifies that the client has established, implements and maintains a management system, manufacturing process, service, or procedure that includes all of the required elements to ensure standardization and quality assurance.
A similar job related to the adoption of standards to ensure quality (specifically for internal controls, cyber security, information security and data security) would be a SOC II Auditor, please see the job responsibilities for a SOC Auditor here.
Category: Consultant Job Responsibilities