government - contractor management training

Detailed Description:

A Government agency recently expanded their mission for one of their large program offices. Due to this expansion, many of their employees are now being asked to oversee and manage contractors as a new area of responsibility. However, they have had minimal training or experience in this area and as a result are not managing contractors effectively. Managing contractors can be challenging for even seasoned managers as it requires making difficult judgments calls based on the specific situation impacted by type of contract, relationship with the contractor, work being performed, phase of the project, etc. As a result, training is needed to help these new managers be more adept at assessing complex situations and making fair and effective decisions in a timely manner.
Balancing different considerations is difficult as there continues to be different perspectives and controversy within senior leadership within the Federal Government on the level of contractor oversight needed, amount of work to be outsourced to contractors, and when to compromise on a contractor issue for the overall success of a program. Overall guidance and policy is ambiguous so managers need to rely on their own judgment based on the situation. In addition, a manager needs to take into consideration the different perspectives from other organizations involved such as the contracting, legal, and technical offices and the contractor in selecting a course of action. As a result, the training needs to enable these new managers to be better equipped at making their own judgments within the framework of the existing regulations, policies, and relevant contracts.��

Learning Outcomes:

The learner will be able to:

Identify relevant contractual information related to contractor requirements and progress status
Assess the merits of a contractor�s request for contract changes
Discuss how the different players view a contractor conflict and their motivation in its resolution (to include Project Manager, Technical Manager, Contracting Officer/Legal, and the Contractor)
Describe several different perspectives on management of contractors and the merits of each argument
Identify alternative solutions for resolving contractor conflicts
Analyze a problem from different perspectives before selecting course of action
Apply lessons learned from other projects to current project
Recommend and defend plan for overseeing contractor that mitigates project/program risk
Demonstrate critical thinking skills in resolving contractor management issues.