Project Third-Party Integrity and Operational Risk Assessment Intensive Course

Course Introduction

Project Third-Party Integrity and Operational Risk Assessment Intensive Course provides a structured, practical framework for identifying, evaluating, monitoring, and mitigating risks arising from external parties involved in project delivery. Projects increasingly depend on contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, agents, logistics providers, joint venture partners, technology vendors, and outsourced service providers. Although these relationships provide essential capabilities and resources, they can introduce exposure involving fraud, bribery, conflicts of interest, sanctions, financial instability, operational disruption, regulatory noncompliance, cybersecurity, and reputational damage. The course equips participants with the methods needed to assess third-party integrity, understand operational vulnerabilities, establish proportionate controls, and protect project objectives throughout the commercial relationship lifecycle.

Effective third-party risk management begins before a supplier or partner is appointed and continues through onboarding, contracting, mobilization, performance monitoring, contract amendments, renewal, and disengagement. Participants examine how to establish risk-based screening procedures, assess ownership structures, verify credentials, review financial and operational capacity, identify adverse information, and evaluate relationships with politically exposed persons or other higher-risk counterparties where relevant. The course explores how to differentiate routine commercial exposure from elevated integrity concerns and how to determine when enhanced due diligence, specialist review, additional contractual safeguards, or senior management approval is warranted. Particular attention is given to maintaining documented, defensible decisions without allowing administrative complexity to obstruct legitimate project delivery.

Third-party integrity risks can arise through direct misconduct or through weaknesses in the wider commercial ecosystem. Undisclosed conflicts of interest, collusive bidding, improper payments, falsified certifications, labor abuses, undisclosed subcontracting, sanctions exposure, and manipulation of procurement processes can undermine project performance and institutional credibility. Participants learn how to identify red flags, assess the credibility and significance of adverse findings, evaluate control weaknesses, and investigate concerns through appropriate governance channels. The course emphasizes the importance of distinguishing allegations from verified facts, preserving confidentiality, documenting evidence, and applying fair, consistent, and legally appropriate procedures when assessing counterparties or responding to potential misconduct.

Operational risk assessment extends beyond integrity screening to examine whether third parties can reliably perform their contractual responsibilities under realistic project conditions. Participants assess supplier capacity, financial resilience, workforce availability, technical competence, quality systems, health and safety practices, business continuity, cybersecurity, logistics arrangements, geographic concentration, and dependency on critical subcontractors. The course examines how a supplier's operational weakness can propagate into schedule delays, cost escalation, defects, payment disputes, resource shortages, and wider project disruption. Participants learn to connect third-party risk assessments with procurement strategies, contract management, project schedules, cost forecasts, contingency planning, and overall project risk registers.

Modern third-party risk management increasingly relies on digital procurement platforms, supplier intelligence systems, sanctions screening tools, automated monitoring, document verification, data analytics, and AI-assisted risk indicators. The course explores how these capabilities can improve visibility into ownership changes, financial deterioration, delivery performance, adverse information, suspicious transactions, and emerging operational threats. Participants also examine limitations involving incomplete data, false positives, outdated records, biased analytical outputs, privacy obligations, and overreliance on automated screening. Emphasis is placed on risk-based human review, data governance, audit trails, information security, and proportionate escalation to ensure that technology supports sound decisions rather than replacing professional judgment.

By completing Project Third-Party Integrity and Operational Risk Assessment Intensive Course, participants will be better equipped to design and implement a comprehensive third-party risk management framework aligned with project governance, procurement controls, commercial objectives, and applicable legal obligations. They will gain practical capabilities in due diligence, integrity screening, operational capability assessment, risk scoring, contract safeguards, ongoing monitoring, incident response, and exit planning. Through applied case studies and assessment exercises, participants will learn to classify third parties according to exposure, establish appropriate controls, identify emerging vulnerabilities, and communicate risk findings to project sponsors and decision-makers. The course supports stronger supplier accountability, more resilient project delivery, reduced exposure to misconduct, and better-informed commercial decisions across complex project environments.

Duration

10 days

Who Should Attend

• Project directors and senior project managers responsible for third-party governance, delivery assurance, and operational risk oversight.

• Procurement managers and sourcing specialists responsible for supplier selection, tender integrity, due diligence, and vendor qualification.

• Third-party risk managers and enterprise risk professionals assessing external counterparties, operational dependencies, and integrity exposure.

• Compliance officers responsible for anti-bribery controls, sanctions screening, conflicts of interest, regulatory compliance, and ethical business conduct.

• Commercial managers and contract administrators managing supplier obligations, contractual protections, subcontracting arrangements, and performance-related risks.

• Supply chain managers responsible for supplier resilience, logistics continuity, critical materials, subcontractor dependencies, and delivery reliability.

• Internal auditors and assurance professionals reviewing third-party controls, procurement governance, supplier onboarding, and ongoing monitoring.

• Legal advisers and contract specialists supporting counterparty assessment, compliance clauses, investigation processes, and contractual remedies.

• Finance managers and project accountants evaluating supplier solvency, payment risks, financial exposure, fraud indicators, and financial control weaknesses.

• Project controls managers assessing third-party impacts on cost forecasts, schedules, resource plans, milestones, and delivery confidence.

• Information security and technology risk professionals assessing vendor cybersecurity, data protection, system access, and technology service continuity.

• Health, safety, environmental, and quality professionals evaluating third-party operating standards, workforce practices, and compliance with project requirements.

• Fraud risk and investigations professionals supporting red-flag assessment, evidence preservation, case escalation, and incident response.

• PMO and governance professionals integrating third-party assessments into project assurance, risk registers, reporting, and approval processes.

• Consultants and advisers supporting supplier due diligence, third-party risk framework design, operational resilience, procurement integrity, and control improvement.

Course Objectives

• Develop an advanced understanding of third-party integrity and operational risk, including how external counterparties can affect project performance, compliance, financial exposure, and organizational reputation.

• Design a risk-based third-party assessment framework covering identification, classification, due diligence, onboarding, contracting, performance monitoring, renewal, and disengagement.

• Apply proportionate integrity screening procedures to identify ownership concerns, conflicts of interest, bribery indicators, sanctions exposure, adverse information, and other relevant red flags.

• Evaluate third-party operational capability by examining financial resilience, technical competence, staffing, quality assurance, logistics, health and safety, cybersecurity, and business continuity.

• Establish transparent risk scoring methodologies that combine inherent exposure, likelihood, impact, control effectiveness, residual risk, and the criticality of the third party to project delivery.

• Identify and assess integrity risks associated with procurement manipulation, collusion, undisclosed subcontracting, falsified records, improper payments, fraud, and conflicts of interest.

• Integrate third-party risk assessment findings into procurement decisions, contract terms, project risk registers, contingency planning, cost forecasts, schedule controls, and governance approvals.

• Develop enhanced due diligence procedures for higher-risk counterparties, including additional verification, beneficial ownership analysis, independent review, specialist assessment, and documented approval.

• Establish contractual and operational safeguards covering audit rights, compliance obligations, subcontractor disclosure, reporting requirements, incident notification, performance standards, and termination conditions.

• Apply ongoing monitoring techniques to detect changes in ownership, financial health, sanctions status, operational capability, delivery performance, and integrity exposure throughout the project lifecycle.

• Use digital screening tools, supplier analytics, automated alerts, and AI-assisted indicators responsibly while addressing data quality, false positives, confidentiality, privacy, and human oversight.

• Develop practical remediation, escalation, incident response, and exit strategies that address third-party deficiencies while preserving evidence, protecting project continuity, and maintaining accountability.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Third-Party Integrity and Operational Risk

• Examine the role of third-party risk management in project governance, procurement integrity, operational resilience, commercial assurance, and organizational accountability.

• Distinguish integrity risk, operational risk, financial risk, compliance risk, cyber risk, reputational risk, and strategic dependency exposure across external relationships.

• Map the third-party ecosystem, including suppliers, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, agents, joint venture partners, outsourced providers, and critical technology vendors.

• Identify common risk management failures involving superficial screening, unclear ownership, incomplete records, weak contract controls, and insufficient ongoing monitoring.

Module 2: Third-Party Lifecycle Governance and Risk Classification

• Develop a lifecycle framework covering third-party identification, prequalification, due diligence, approval, onboarding, contracting, monitoring, renewal, and exit.

• Classify third parties according to financial exposure, operational criticality, access to sensitive information, geographic exposure, service complexity, and integrity concerns.

• Establish risk-tiering criteria that determine the depth of screening, approval authority, monitoring frequency, and need for specialist review.

• Define roles, responsibilities, escalation paths, documentation requirements, and governance checkpoints across procurement, compliance, legal, finance, operations, and project management.

Module 3: Integrity Due Diligence and Counterparty Verification

• Design due diligence procedures for verifying legal identity, corporate registration, business credentials, ownership information, management experience, and declared business activities.

• Assess beneficial ownership transparency, control relationships, affiliated entities, politically exposed person exposure where relevant, and potential conflicts of interest.

• Review adverse media, litigation records, enforcement information, sanctions lists, debarment information, and other credible sources appropriate to the jurisdiction and risk profile.

• Establish evidence standards and verification procedures that distinguish verified facts, credible concerns, unresolved allegations, and information requiring further investigation.

Module 4: Anti-Bribery, Fraud, Conflicts of Interest, and Procurement Integrity

• Identify warning signs associated with bribery, facilitation payments, kickbacks, bid manipulation, collusion, false invoicing, and improper influence over project decisions.

• Assess conflicts of interest involving procurement personnel, evaluators, consultants, subcontractors, public officials, intermediaries, and related commercial entities.

• Evaluate procurement controls covering tender access, bid evaluation, approval segregation, vendor master data, contract awards, purchase orders, and payment authorization.

• Develop procedures for documenting integrity concerns, preserving relevant evidence, referring cases through appropriate channels, and applying fair and consistent review processes.

Module 5: Financial Stability and Commercial Exposure Assessment

• Evaluate third-party financial health through available financial statements, liquidity indicators, leverage, cash flow, debt exposure, credit information, and payment performance.

• Assess commercial vulnerabilities involving underpricing, aggressive bidding, dependence on project advances, financial distress, insolvency risk, and inadequate working capital.

• Examine how supplier financial weakness can trigger delayed deliveries, workforce disruption, subcontractor nonpayment, claims, contract abandonment, and additional project costs.

• Integrate financial risk findings into supplier qualification, payment terms, guarantees, retention arrangements, financial monitoring, and contingency planning.

Module 6: Operational Capability and Delivery Reliability Assessment

• Evaluate technical qualifications, staffing capacity, equipment availability, production capability, quality systems, certifications, and experience delivering comparable project requirements.

• Assess supplier schedules, resource plans, logistics arrangements, inventory strategies, critical dependencies, subcontractor management, and ability to meet contractual milestones.

• Review historical performance, defect rates, delivery reliability, corrective-action records, service availability, and evidence supporting operational capability claims.

• Establish operational risk indicators and escalation triggers for deteriorating performance, resource shortages, quality failures, repeated delays, and emerging capacity constraints.

Module 7: Supply Chain Resilience and Subcontractor Risk

• Map supplier tiers and subcontracting relationships to identify concentration risks, hidden dependencies, geographic exposure, and potential single points of failure.

• Evaluate the operational and integrity risks associated with undisclosed subcontractors, labor brokers, logistics intermediaries, agents, and specialist service providers.

• Assess business continuity, alternative sourcing, inventory buffers, substitute materials, recovery capability, and critical supplier dependency arrangements.

• Develop supply chain monitoring and contingency measures that reduce disruption exposure while maintaining appropriate procurement transparency and contract accountability.

Module 8: Legal, Regulatory, Sanctions, and Ethical Compliance

• Identify applicable legal and contractual requirements involving anti-bribery, fraud prevention, sanctions, export controls, competition, labor standards, data protection, and procurement compliance.

• Establish screening and escalation procedures for potential sanctions exposure, restricted parties, ownership links, regulatory restrictions, and other legally significant concerns.

• Evaluate third-party compliance programmes, codes of conduct, reporting channels, training, internal investigations, disciplinary arrangements, and remediation practices.

• Define governance procedures for managing legal uncertainty, jurisdictional differences, potential violations, and decisions requiring qualified legal or compliance advice.

Module 9: Contractual Safeguards and Commercial Risk Allocation

• Draft and assess contractual provisions covering compliance obligations, audit rights, record retention, beneficial ownership disclosure, subcontractor approval, and access to supporting documentation.

• Establish requirements for incident notification, performance reporting, corrective actions, cybersecurity, business continuity, quality assurance, and cooperation with legitimate investigations.

• Evaluate contractual mechanisms such as performance guarantees, insurance requirements, retention, service levels, step-in rights, suspension, and termination provisions.

• Align contractual risk allocation with the actual ability of each party to control, mitigate, insure, or absorb the relevant exposure without creating impractical obligations.

Module 10: Third-Party Cybersecurity, Data Protection, and Technology Risk

• Assess third-party access to project systems, confidential information, personal data, operational technology, cloud platforms, and connected digital infrastructure.

• Evaluate cybersecurity controls covering identity management, privileged access, encryption, vulnerability management, incident response, backups, and secure data transfer.

• Examine risks arising from software supply chains, outsourced IT services, AI providers, data hosting arrangements, and reliance on external technology platforms.

• Establish monitoring and contractual controls for cybersecurity incidents, data breaches, service interruptions, system changes, information return, and secure termination of access.

Module 11: Risk Scoring, Control Assessment, and Residual Exposure

• Develop risk scoring models that combine likelihood, consequence, exposure duration, operational criticality, financial impact, and integrity indicators.

• Distinguish inherent risk from residual risk by evaluating the design, implementation, and effectiveness of existing preventive and detective controls.

• Establish decision thresholds for standard approval, enhanced due diligence, conditional approval, senior management review, risk acceptance, or rejection.

• Test scoring models for consistency, explainability, appropriate weighting, data quality, and potential bias across different third-party categories and operating environments.

Module 12: Ongoing Monitoring, Early Warning, and Performance Analytics

• Establish monitoring schedules based on third-party risk tier, contract duration, project criticality, regulatory exposure, and the rate at which risk conditions may change.

• Track relevant changes in ownership, financial condition, sanctions exposure, adverse information, delivery performance, litigation, certifications, and operational capability.

• Use dashboards, automated screening, supplier performance data, transaction analytics, and exception alerts to identify emerging concerns and prioritize investigation.

• Define review responsibilities, alert validation procedures, escalation deadlines, evidence retention, and reassessment requirements when material changes occur.

Module 13: Third-Party Incident Response and Investigation Coordination

• Establish response procedures for suspected fraud, bribery, sanctions concerns, cybersecurity incidents, serious operational failures, and material contractual breaches.

• Apply proportionate triage methods to assess urgency, preserve relevant records, secure affected systems, protect project continuity, and notify authorized stakeholders.

• Coordinate procurement, legal, compliance, finance, operational management, security, and assurance functions while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and independence.

• Document findings, distinguish substantiated conclusions from unresolved allegations, assign corrective actions, and determine whether contractual or regulatory notifications are required.

Module 14: Digital Screening, Data Analytics, and AI-Assisted Risk Assessment

• Evaluate digital due diligence platforms, corporate registries, sanctions screening tools, supplier intelligence services, and adverse-information monitoring systems.

• Apply data analytics to identify duplicate vendor records, suspicious payment patterns, unusual procurement relationships, concentrated spend, and unexplained supplier performance changes.

• Assess AI-assisted risk indicators for accuracy, explainability, bias, false positives, source reliability, and the potential consequences of automated recommendations.

• Establish data governance, access controls, privacy safeguards, audit trails, validation requirements, and human review before material third-party decisions are finalized.

Module 15: Risk Remediation, Continuity Planning, and Third-Party Exit

• Develop remediation plans for integrity deficiencies, operational weaknesses, financial deterioration, compliance gaps, and underperforming supplier relationships.

• Define corrective-action owners, completion dates, verification requirements, temporary safeguards, monitoring intensity, and criteria for restoring normal approval status.

• Prepare continuity and transition plans for replacing critical suppliers, transferring services, recovering data, mobilizing alternatives, and protecting essential project milestones.

• Establish suspension, disengagement, and termination decision processes that consider contractual rights, legal obligations, evidence preservation, operational continuity, and residual exposure.

Module 16: Integrated Third-Party Risk Assessment Capstone

• Conduct an end-to-end assessment of a representative project supplier or contractor, covering integrity screening, financial capacity, operational capability, compliance, and dependency exposure.

• Prepare a risk assessment report containing verified findings, outstanding questions, risk ratings, control effectiveness, residual exposure, and proportionate approval recommendations.

• Develop a third-party risk management plan with contractual safeguards, monitoring indicators, escalation triggers, corrective actions, and contingency arrangements.

• Present an implementation roadmap integrating third-party risk governance into procurement, contract management, project controls, management reporting, and continuous assurance.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.