About us | ISO Consultant in Kent | Next Step Compliance

Who We Are

Next Step Compliance is a Kent-based ISO consultancy supporting small and growing businesses across Maidstone, Medway, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and throughout Mid Kent. We provide practical, on-site ISO consultancy and outsourced compliance management, taking certification and ongoing compliance completely off your plate.

We are Jeanette Wessen and Tim Thompson, a husband and wife team based in Aylesford. Between us we bring a combination of IRCA lead auditor qualifications, hands-on manufacturing and engineering experience, and over a decade of expertise working with Kent SMEs across a wide range of sectors.

Since launching Next Step Compliance in January 2026, we have maintained a 100% certification audit pass rate across every client we have supported with Jeanette having a 100% pass rate since 2023.

Jeanette Wessen – IRCA Registered Lead Auditor

I am an IRCA registered lead auditor qualified across ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 and hold my NEBOSH General Certificate in health and safety qualification. I work with small businesses as their dedicated outsourced compliance manager, on-site, embedded in the business and managing their ISO systems, SSIP accreditations and ongoing compliance throughout the year.

Before moving into consultancy, I spent over thirteen years in education teaching Food Technology, Engineering and Design Technology at secondary level and leading as Head of Department. That background shapes everything about how I work with clients today.

ISO standards are technical and dense. What makes the difference is being able to translate them into clear, practical actions that fit the way a business actually operates and making sure that the people who need to follow the system actually understand it. That is what thirteen years in the classroom gives you.

I trained under and worked alongside my father, who ran AW Associates, a long-established Kent compliance consultancy, before eventually taking over his client base when he retired. The foundations of how I approach this work were built through that apprenticeship, practical, relationship-based and always focused on what actually works in a real business.

Tim Thompson – Manufacturing and Engineering Specialist

Tim brings a background spanning musical instrument manufacturing and repair, bespoke fine art transport container design and build and high-end watch servicing. He is currently undertaking formal ISO training as he builds his role within Next Step Compliance, with a particular focus on manufacturing and precision engineering clients.

For small businesses in those sectors, having a consultant who genuinely understands production environments, tooling, process control and the realities of the workshop floor makes a significant difference to the quality of the system that gets built.

Theo Paphitis #SBS winner

In June 2026, Next Step Compliance was selected by Theo Paphitis as one of his Small Business Sunday (#SBS) winners, chosen from lots of entries across the UK.

Small Business Sunday is one of the UK’s most respected small business initiatives, run by the entrepreneur and former BBC Dragon’s Den star behind Ryman, Robert Dyas, Boux Avenue and London Graphic Centre. Each week Theo selects just six businesses from entries across LinkedIn, Instagram and X, welcoming them into a national network of around 5,000 small business owners.

For Next Step Compliance, this win means three things. It means visibility, more businesses across Kent and beyond can now find us and understand what we do. It means validation, that what we have built in a short space of time is genuinely worth shouting about. And it means recognition that compliance consultancy, done properly, makes a real difference to the businesses we work with.

We are proud to carry the #SBS badge alongside our IRCA qualifications and 100% client certification pass rate.

Our Credentials

• IRCA registered lead auditor – ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001
• NEBOSH health and safety qualification
• BSc Human Nutrition
• PGCE – Food Education and Design Technology
• Level 4 HACCP qualification
• 100% certification audit pass rate
• Supported businesses across Maidstone, Medway, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Gravesend

What Our Clients Say

“Having previously become a bit disillusioned by the ISO process and guidance we had received, my faith was restored once again after we engaged the ISO services from Jeanette. It was refreshing to be listened to rather than dictated to as to how we should run our company.” Linton Electrical Contractors, Kent

“Working with Jeanette over the past couple of years has been a pleasure. Jeanette’s professionalism, knowledge and advice have been integral to Locks4Vans retaining our ISO certification.” Locks4Vans, Kent

Read our full case studies to see how we have supported Kent businesses through ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and CHAS accreditation.

Work With a Local ISO Consultant in Kent

If you are a small business in Kent looking for practical, on-site support with ISO certification, SSIP accreditation or ongoing compliance management, we would be pleased to talk.

Based in Aylesford, we work on-site with businesses across Maidstone, Medway, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Gravesend and beyond where needed.

Call us on 01732 711674 or get in touch for a free 30 minute conversation with no obligation.