This Current Trends in Contract and Procurement Management Course aims to equip officers as well as professionals who wish to acquire recent knowledge, skills, and competencies to be able to fulfil their roles in procurement management. Public sector employees and especially civil servants may often change their role during their career.

Few will be in a specialist procurement role for their entire career. However, they may be asked to run or supervise tenders for goods and services costing tens or hundreds of thousands or even Millions of Dollars. They may be asked to do this despite having no specialist training in procurement or finance.

This programme has been custom designed for public sector organizations in Africa. The case studies which have been prepared for delegates to work with are based on real-world examples of those working in a public sector environment. A core component of the course is to deliver practical awareness and understanding of the recent initiatives for procurement in Government institutions and establishments in Africa.

Why Choose this Training Course?

This intensive contracts and procurement management training course is designed to assist procurement professionals cope with the increasing complexity of commercial and business relationships as trade becomes ever more international. All business professionals need to understand what a contract does (and does not) require them and the other party to the contract to do, and the consequences for both parties of any failure.

This training course will feature:

• The differences in approach between different legal and contracting systems
• Risk allocation in contract management and dispute resolution in contractual disputes
• Contracting in an international context
• Protecting your company’s interests
• An understanding of contracting in the English language

What are the Goals?

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Improve their understanding of the role of contracts within a business
• Develop more confidence in dealing with contracting issues
• Understand how strategies can be developed to improve the commercial outcomes
• Apply the latest international thinking in dispute resolution
• Increase awareness of the use of contracts in everyday business life

Who is this Training Course for?

This training course will benefit all levels of personnel engaged in contract and procurement management, negotiation,  operations, and disputes. This training course is suitable to a wide range of procurement professionals but will greatly benefit:

• Contract Administrators, Contract Professionals and Project Coordinators
• Specifiers, Buyers, Purchasing Professionals and Procurement Officers
• Contracts managers  
• Project managers
• Engineers or contracts operatives

Topics covered on this course will include

 What are Contracts and how are they Created?

• The need for contractual relationships
• What is needed to create a valid contract?  Ingredients and formalities
• Authority and agency
• The tender process
• Alternative sourcing
• Making contracts enforceable – with particular emphasis on the international context
• Strategic Procurement in the Context of World Bank Financed Projects
• Introduction to Strategic procurement in the World Bank context
• Introduction to the five steps to complete a procurement strategy
• Initial data requirements
• Analyzing the operating context for the project
• Incorporating lessons learned from previous projects
• Options generation for the procurement arrangements
• Selecting the best approach to market
• Completing the Procurement Strategy and Procurement Plan
• Case study example

The Structure of Contracts

• Form of Agreement
• Hierarchy of Terms and Conditions
• Different contractual structures
• Traditional and new
• Notices and other formalities

 Collateral Documents

• Securitising performance obligations
• Bonds and guarantees
• Parent company guarantees
• Letters of intent, comfort or awareness
• Insurance policies
• Assessing the need for financial security

 Change and Variation

• Changes to Contract documents
• Assignment/Novation explained and distinguished
• Variation clauses  and changes to the scope of work
• Claims – what they are, and how they arise
• Delay and disruption
• Force majeure

 Resolving Disputes

• Conflict avoidance and tiered dispute resolution clauses
• Negotiation
• Litigation
• Arbitration
• Mediation  and new best practices in dispute resolution and management
• Final questions and review of course