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Description

Managing External Providers: Scoping the Service, Tracking Delivery and Handling Gaps

Obtain the expected result from a provider without doing the work yourself or absorbing their delays

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Handing part of a project to an external provider does not remove the management workload, it shifts it. An imprecise scope of work, poorly defined deliverables and meetings with no record of decisions produce the same symptoms every time: schedule slippage, successive variation orders and disagreement over what was actually ordered.

These two days provide a practical method for managing external providers. Participants learn to express a requirement that genuinely commits both parties, select tracking indicators suited to the type of service, run governance meetings and address gaps before they turn into disputes.

Learning objectives

  • Express a requirement in the form of verifiable specifications
  • Define deliverables and the expected acceptance criteria
  • Select tracking indicators suited to the type of service
  • Run governance meetings and record the decisions taken
  • Address schedule cost and quality gaps before escalation

What makes this programme different

A deliberately ambiguous scope of work is rewritten by participants into verifiable specifications
A governance meeting with a provider running late is role-played in full
A decision-log and action-tracking template is built during the session

Programme

1Scoping the Requirement and the Contract

Ordering what you actually want

  • Expressing the requirement as verifiable specifications
  • Distinguishing best-efforts undertakings from results-based commitments
  • Defining deliverables milestones and acceptance conditions
  • Key points of attention in schedule and penalty clauses

2Selecting the Provider and Starting the Relationship

Setting up governance from day one

  • Selection criteria beyond the quoted price
  • Kick-off meeting and agreement on the ground rules
  • Appointing counterparts and defining decision channels
  • Communication plan and frequency of progress reviews

3Tracking Delivery

Seeing drift before it arrives

  • Schedule consumption and quality indicators
  • Tracking real progress and detecting hidden delays
  • Accepting deliverables and managing reservations
  • Traceability of exchanges and change requests

4Gaps Disputes and Closing the Engagement

Regaining control without breaking the relationship

  • Handling change requests and contract variations
  • Conducting a performance discussion with the provider
  • Progressive escalation while preserving the relationship
  • Closure engagement review and lessons learned

Who is it for

Project managers · procurement managers · client-side project owners · department heads working with subcontractors and project management support staff.

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge required

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.