Policy Development Consultant

Idea Cast Management  Services is a National Management Consulting firm that was established in 2017. The firm is registered with Government of Afghanistan, and has been providing support to the international development and cooperation sector.

Job Purpose

The Policy Development Consultant will lead the assessment, development, review, revision, and strengthening of organizational policies, procedures, guidelines, and institutional frameworks. Working closely with organizational leadership, management, board members, staff, and relevant stakeholders, the Consultant will ensure that policies are practical, inclusive, culturally sensitive, contextually appropriate, and responsive to Afghanistan's evolving operational environment.

The Consultant will ensure alignment, where applicable, with relevant national laws and regulations, organizational governance structures, donor and partner requirements, humanitarian and development principles, and recognized international standards and good practices. Particular attention will be given to accountability, transparency, safeguarding, gender sensitivity, inclusion, protection, staff welfare, risk management, and institutional sustainability.

Policy Required:

1- Gender Policy 2-PSEAH Policy 3- Safergurarding Policy 4-Advoacy and Networking 5- Code of conduct 

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1. Policy Review and Institutional Assessment
Conduct comprehensive reviews of existing policies, procedures, manuals, and institutional frameworks; assess their relevance, effectiveness, consistency, and implementation; identify gaps, overlaps, outdated provisions, risks, and capacity constraints; and prepare a policy gap assessment report with prioritized recommendations.

2. Policy Development and Revision
Develop, revise, consolidate, and standardize organizational policies and procedures that are clear, practical, user-friendly, and adaptable to diverse operational contexts. Ensure policies define purpose, scope, principles, roles, responsibilities, procedures, accountability, compliance, monitoring, and review mechanisms while promoting good governance, integrity, confidentiality, inclusion, safeguarding, and staff well-being.

3. Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement
Develop and implement a participatory consultation process involving leadership, management, board members, staff, technical teams, and relevant external stakeholders. Facilitate interviews, focus groups, workshops, and validation sessions; document feedback; incorporate relevant recommendations; and promote ownership of policies across the organization.

4. Research, Legal Review, and Contextual Benchmarking
Conduct relevant desk research and review applicable laws, regulations, sector guidance, and organizational standards. Benchmark policies against recognized national and international good practices and adapt them to Afghanistan's social, cultural, institutional, security, and operational realities.

5. Policy Validation, Finalization, and Institutionalization
Facilitate structured policy review, validation, approval, and finalization processes. Present findings and draft policies, incorporate agreed feedback, ensure professional standardization, and develop practical implementation roadmaps, dissemination plans, and mechanisms for periodic review and updating.

6. Capacity Building and Implementation Support
Assess policy implementation capacity needs and develop practical orientation materials, guidance notes, checklists, and tools. Conduct orientation sessions and provide implementation support to strengthen staff understanding, accountability, compliance, monitoring, and integration of policies into day-to-day organizational systems, ensuring long-term institutional ownership and sustainability.

 Required Qualifications

Education

• Master Degree in Law, Public Policy, Public Administration, Governance, Development Studies, International Relations, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Organizational Development, or another relevant field.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in policy development, organizational development, institutional strengthening, governance, compliance, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience in developing, reviewing, revising, and institutionalizing organizational policies, procedures, and guidelines.
• Proven experience conducting organizational assessments, policy gap analyses, and institutional capacity assessments.
• Experience working with national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, women-led organizations, humanitarian organizations, development agencies, or similar institutions in Afghanistan or comparable contexts.
• Demonstrated understanding of the operational, institutional, and civil society environment in Afghanistan.
• Experience working within complex, dynamic, and resource-constrained operational environments.
• Proven experience facilitating stakeholder consultations, workshops, focus group discussions, and policy validation sessions.
• Experience in translating complex legal, regulatory, and organizational requirements into practical and implementable policies.
• Experience working with organizational governance structures, including boards, executive leadership, and senior management teams.
• Familiarity with policies related to human resources, administration, finance, procurement, governance, safeguarding, protection, complaints and feedback mechanisms, code of conduct, anti-fraud, conflict of interest, and risk management is highly desirable.
• Previous experience supporting women-led civil society organizations and organizations working on gender equality, protection, community development, or humanitarian assistance will be an advantage.

Language Requirements

• Excellent written and spoken English is required.
• Fluency in Dari and/or Pashto is highly desirable.
• Ability to prepare clear and professional policy documents and facilitate consultations in relevant local languages will be considered a strong advantage.

Technical Competencies

The Consultant should demonstrate:

• Strong knowledge of policy development methodologies and institutional strengthening approaches.
• Strong understanding of organizational governance and management systems.
• Excellent policy analysis, research, drafting, editing, and documentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop practical policies that balance international standards with local realities.
• Knowledge of the Afghanistan civil society, humanitarian, and development operating environment.
• Understanding of relevant organizational compliance and accountability requirements.
• Familiarity with national legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to organizations operating in Afghanistan.
• Knowledge of international standards and good practices relevant to NGOs and civil society organizations.
• Strong understanding of gender sensitivity, inclusion, non-discrimination, safeguarding, protection, accountability, and ethical organizational conduct.
• Ability to analyze institutional risks and translate findings into practical policy and procedural solutions.
• Experience in developing policy implementation frameworks, compliance mechanisms, and monitoring tools.