Contract Management
- Understand the fundamentals of contract management and administration across the contract lifecycle.
- Recognise the role of effective contract management in supporting commercial performance and profitability.
- Manage contractual relationships with suppliers and stakeholders more confidently.
- Apply practical approaches to contract negotiations, change management, and dispute resolution.
- Identify and manage cost, risk, and contractual obligations more effectively.
- Contribute commercial awareness and best‑practice thinking to their organisation and project teams.
Overview
This one‑day course introduces the core principles of contract management, providing practical insight into how contracts are administered, managed, and closed out effectively. Designed for engineers and professionals without a formal commercial background, it builds confidence in managing supplier relationships, controlling cost and risk, and contributing to successful and profitable contract outcomes through best‑practice approaches.
Who should attend
Individuals involved in or supporting contracting who want to improve their commercial management skills Project managers needing training in commercial management General audiences wanting to gain a basic understanding of commercial management. Account Managers, Site Construction Managers, Bid Managers, Program / Project Managers, Functional and Subject Matter Experts, Finance Managers, Facilities Managers.
Course Content
This one‑day Contract Management course provides a practical introduction to the essentials of contract management for engineers, non‑contracting professionals, and those beginning a career in the commercial environment or requiring stronger commercial skills in their role. It offers insight into the principles of contract administration from project inception through to contract close‑out, with a strong focus on real‑world application. The course covers key administrative aspects of contracts, effective negotiation practices, post‑award transition, change control, and dispute management. Emphasis is placed on understanding the commercial relationship, enabling participants to support profitability, manage risk and cost, and confidently engage with suppliers. The programme delivers contemporary best practices in an engaging and accessible way, ensuring immediate relevance and value in both professional and personal contexts.
Who Should Attend
Location
Course Syllabus
Day 1
Session 1: Introduction to Contract Management
- Overview: what is a contract?
- What is the purpose of a contract?
- How contracts drive behaviours in commercial relationships
- The common pitfalls of contracting, how to overcome them and return value to the business
Session 2: Understanding the statement and scope of work and how it will be delivered
- Using a scope of work to understand the right relationship context to deliver your business outcomes in an amicable manner
- Understanding different types of scope of work, input, output and outcome.
- Defining SLAs, KPIs, OKRs
- Leading and lagging indicators
Session 3: Understanding a supplier’s approach to your relationship
- How they evaluate opportunities that come their way
- Their rationale for wanting to work with you.
- How to increase a supplier’s motivation to work with you amicably
Session 4: Terms and conditions
- How to read and analyse a contract, passive terms, active terms, the use of language and avoiding ambiguity
- How do we form contracts, oral versus written
- Key areas that the contract should address
- Understanding the purpose of common terms and conditions
Session 05: Transitioning to a new contract
- Communication and implementation through kick off meetings
- Explaining the contract to the delivery team
- Managing stakeholders throughout the contract
- Understanding the spectrum of relationships styles available to us
- Initiating and documenting change
Session 6: Post Award Contract Management – Managing performance
- Managing delivery and creating verifiable acceptance criteria, how will you know you’ve received what you contacted for?
- The maintenance of evidence and the need for good record keeping
- Contract targets, SLAs, KPIs and other measurements
- Contract governance and building the right culture and relationship
- Invoicing and authorising payment
Session 7: Post Award Contract Management – Claims and disputes and closing out contracts
- Contract claims, disputes and the use of conditions precedent
- Resolving common operational disputes
- Avoiding a dispute
- The formal dispute resolution process
- Closing out the contract and administratively finalising the relationship
