Contract Management

There are two sides to get right: "contract" and "management". This service assumes you already have scoped, negotiated and signed a contract to deliver services, and need help achieving agreement that what was contracted has been delivered and the contract terms fulfilled. This requires experience on a number of fronts, not the least of which is customer relationship management.

What are the skills that need to be brought to bear? On the "contract" front, we would expect someone in this role to have the ability to understand the legal aspects of the relationship, and the implications of interpreting the contractual terms one way or another. Of course, no one knows your business to the extent you do, so there will need to be a good level (depending upon the complexity of the contract) of up front discussion, as well as an ongoing conversation with you as the project unfolds.

As for "management" skills, the Contract Manager role requires all the prerequisites you would want in any senior, experienced person. Here are a few of the main ones:

• strategic orientation, so all participants are working to achieve defined goals
• analytical skills, necessary to understand the details that make the difference between "done" and "done well"
• commercial acumen, having a well honed ability to appreciate the business risks at stake, and the reasons why one stance is preferable to another
• soft skills, which enable the outcome or output to appropriately address the qualitative, not just quantitative issues
• negotiation skills, so debate is constructive, and approached from a "win/win" perspective
• communications skills, so the difficult discussions are professional, and a positive relationship is maintained, even during difficult periods

Depending on your business sector and project, you may or may not need someone with domain specific knowledge. Click on the Contact Us button below, or use the Live Support chat facility to get in touch and discuss your contract management needs. Prices: per project or per diem