How2Day: Contract Administration Responsibilities

Hiring someone else to work for you or your organization is the first responsibility of a contract administrator. You don't have time or reason to hold a permanent asset of a given set of skills, technologies or equipment, so you decide to buy them from someone else for a stated period of time. After being clear about what you want, when and for how much, you need to keep checking to make sure things are progressing as you expected.

You need to know what your organization has hired the contractor to do. Make sure all the specifics are discussed and negotiated between the parties and are clearly stated in the contract. For example, if you are hiring the contractor to build a building, the language in the contract includes the timetable for completion, the building specifications and quality of materials used, a plan for contingencies and how to resolve conflicts. When you are contracting for services, such as a drug treatment program, the contract needs to include other details. State how many clients you expect will be served, the type of treatment to be provided, the qualifications of the providers, who is responsible for malpractice claims, frequency of reviews by the grantor, frequency of reports by the grantee, how to adjust the plan or deal with waiting lists. Some programs will serve a specific type of client (such as an ethnically sensitive treatment geared to a Native American population) or refuse a specific type of client (such as someone who is has a criminal record for domestic violence in a program to serve battered partners). Those program boundaries and limitations need to be clearly stated in the contract. Finally, the rate and schedule of payments needs to be spelled out, as well as the expectations about the accounting for those funds.

Get to know the person or persons in the grantee organization with whom you will primarily communicate. This may be the manager or executive director and the financial officer or accountant, or someone they delegate. Meet with these people during the time you are negotiating the contract and then check in weekly or every other week during the time the contract is in process of being approved. Let the grantee know what issues or obstacles are influencing the process on your side and find out what is happening on their end.

After the contract is underway, keep monthly contact verbally until there is a smooth reporting process in which you get financial and service reports. After regular monthly reports come in on work completed, money spent and how close or far from the goal the project is, have follow-up conversations with your contact people to resolve any misunderstandings or issues. Also keep the key stakeholders in your organization informed of the progress and costs.

When the program is running, a diligent contract administrator reviews how well the grantee is doing what he agreed on a regular basis. Visit the site to check the books. Unplanned visits may be necessary if you are concerned about how things are going. Notice and document the building progress or observe the program evaluations by the clients. Compare how much work has been done compared to how much was required by the contract at this point. This should be done a minimum of every three months, so if there is a delay or problem, it can get attention before the project gets way off schedule.

Get a copy of the annual audit by a firm that follows the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants principles to make sure the money is being accurately and properly spent and managed.

When the project is complete, review the overall performance as compared to the agreed upon contract, and if there are differences, work with the grantee for some type of resolution. When all work is done according to the agreement, sign off on the contract. If some things went exceptionally well, document that as well and try to find out what accounted for that outcome, so it might be replicated in future contracts.

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