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About IACCM » Frequently Asked Questions
What is the expected skill set for a Contract Manager?
When we set out to define skills and knowledge, we pulled together a group of senior managers from some of the leading corporations - North American and European - and arranged a series of workshops to define 'what makes a commercial contracts professional / department excellent'. We created a portfolio of skill and knowledge areas, which were then validated through reviews by more than 400 managers in 26 countries.
This portfolio acts as the core for our 'body of knowledge' (underpinning IACCM's training programs) and also is tested as part of our professional certification program, which has been adopted by leading companies around the world.
This portfolio of skills and knowledge is continuously reviewed and updated - though to be honest, we find the list changes very little; it is the emphasis on specific characteristics that changes. We also validate through extensive benchmarks of organization and process, which now involve more than 500 corporations in the US alone, and give us extensive insights to role, reporting lines and key performance measurements.
Today, that list of skill and knowledge fields has around 40 core characteristics (specific companies or industries sometimes add further items of specialist knowledge). Overall, this list is representative of the range of functional competencies; individual jobs require a smaller sub-set - usually around 18 - 20 characteristics. Obviously, these vary depending on specific job / role descriptions and areas of responsibility.
The mandatory areas we view as 'core' to the profession are:
Commitment to change and personal development (self motivation)
Communications
Interpersonal relationship skills
Negotiation skills
Analytical / problem solving skills
Teamwork
Time management
Additions to these - the areas that are job / role related - come from the following categories, each of which contains between 4 and 8 skill or knowledge fields (eg things like 'ability to draft terms and conditions' or 'financial awareness'):
Knowledge of employer / industry
Client relationships
Business contribution
Business acumen
Technical
Cultural / International
We work with a lot of companies to align these skill / knowledge sets with their job descriptions; we also have an on-line assessment tool that enables testing of current performance and also benchmarking at both an individual and functional / departmental level (both internally and against an external peer group).
I do hope this makes sense and goes some way towards answering your question! Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information or to discuss this, or any other aspect of the Association's work.
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