Course overview
Mastering the drafting of specifications and scopes of supply is a crucial skill in today’s high-stakes commercial landscape. These are farmore than just technical documents - they are a critical legal and strategic tool. Poorly written specifications can result in delays, disputes and project failures. Well-crafted ones build clarity, manage risk and enable project completion - on time, meeting quality standards required and on budget.
This must-attend training course has been expertly designed to equip commercial and contract professionals with the knowledge and practical skills to engage with and support technical and operational colleagues in the drafting, evaluation and management of specifications.
Whether you’re developing a scope of supply to incorporate into a RFQ, or responding to a buyer’s request, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to ensure aspirations are converted into legal obligations, ambiguity into clarity and alignment of terminology, obligations and liabilities amongst all legal documents making up the entire agreement. This will protect your organisation and enhance harmonious relationships between contracting parties by providing a consensus of understanding and certainty.
During this training course you’ll explore:
- The legal foundations from the starting point of statute
- How to use express terms in your specifications to override implied terms to give project specific clarity
- The strategic and practical role of the specification in managing performance, obligations and outcomes
- The legal implications between a performance specification versus a conformance specification
- How to extract essential details from technical teams and translate them into enforceable language
- The interdependency of the contracting relationship and framing your scope to enable project continuity when challenges/ risks arise
- Replacing litigation and solely monetary compensation with practical remedies and avoiding the need to terminate
- How to create a teamwork approach to identifying and realising opportunities for innovation and efficiencies
Led by an expert in commercial contracts, this training course provides practical tools, proven techniques, and real-world examples. You’ll learn how to ask the right questions, communicate and work effectively in a cross-functional team, and ensure your contracts support - not undermine - your project delivery.
CPD Hours: 6
Course Content
- Day 1
- Components of a contract and benefits of express terms
- Drafting a specification: Clarity of obligations and liabilities
- Drafting a specification: Good governance and supply chain management
- Drafting a specification: Proactive risk management
- Drafting a specification: Cross checking
- Drafting a specification: Achieve best value for money
- Final questions
Speakers
Catherine Hurst
Catherine Hurst BSc(Hons), CIMDip, PgDL, is an independent consultant in the contract and commercial fields. She was formerly a Commercial Manager at BAe Systems, following previous contract/commercial roles with GEC and Siemens. She has extensive practical experience of bid management, contract drafting and negotiation, contract and subcontract management as well as commercial risk management, both with UK and overseas customers and suppliers, in the private and public sectors.
She is a highly experienced trainer, having a style which brings a subject to life, creating interest and stimulating the enthusiasm of delegates. She combines academic best practice with real world experience.
She lecturers Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) diploma, levels 4, 5 & 6 at Chichester college. As well as being a member of CIPS, Catherine has a degree in Management Studies, a Chartered Institute of Marketing diploma and more recently achieved a distinction in her Common Professional Examination (CPE)/Post-grad diploma in law, winning the prize for the highest achieving student in the contract law module.
Catherine has successfully provided training to organisations across a wide variety of industries, including:
Transport / utilities / energy / construction / engineering / IT / telecons: Network Rail, ScotRail, Balfour Beatty, London Underground, Westinghouse Springfields Fuels, General Dynamics, Siemens, Metronet, Thales, ABB, Hitachi, Jungheinrich, Honeywell, PALL Europe, Senior Aerospace BWT, RES (Renewable Energy Systems), AGI, Silvertown, QinetiQ, Clyde Pumps / Weir Pumps, Scottish Power, NCOC (North Caspian Operating Company), Computacentre, CISCO, BT, United Utilities
Health / pharmaceutical / education: Nuffield Health, Surrey PCT, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Newcastle University, Exeter University
Public: Forensic Science Services, Office for National Statistics, DARA (Defence Aviation Repair Agency), Metropolitan Police
Charity: Phoenix Futures, Homegroup
Retail: Co-op
