The contract management workforce is facing one of its greatest challenges ever—the workforce is aging and retiring at a pace faster than the next generation is replacing them. The Contract Management Leadership Development Program (CMLDP) is designed to help develop the next generation of acquisition and NCMA leaders through an intensive year-long educational experience.
Program Benefits
The CMLDP provides top-quality education in fundamental leadership, association volunteerism, NCMA governance, and contract management. Participants can expect to:
- Gain access and career connections to top government and industry leadership in the contract management profession;
- Receive career guidance and assignment feedback from two senior contracting professional mentors throughout the program year;
- Network with NCMA leadership at the national and chapter level;
- Apply learned leadership skills in small and large group assignments, preparing participants to bring new skillsets back to the workplace;
- Join classmates and faculty at in-person training events;
- Participate in a series of webinars on fundamental leadership skills and their application in the acquisition workforce;
- Write a graduate-level research paper on a contract management topic, with the possibility of publication in Contract Management Magazine or the Journal of Contract Management; and
- Receive 180 CPE hours.
Program Information & Application Information
Eligibility
The ideal candidate is an NCMA member with 4–8 years of contract management experience who does not yet hold a supervisory or management position. He or she must hold a bachelor’s degree, or higher, from an accredited institution. The candidate should have a strong desire to become a leader and be recommended by his or her employer as a top performer with a high potential for advancement who will thrive and benefit from this program.
Time Commitment
The ideal candidate is an NCMA member with 4–8 years of contract management experience who does not yet hold a supervisory or management position. He or she must hold a bachelor’s degree, or higher, from an accredited institution. The candidate should have a strong desire to become a leader and be recommended by his or her employer as a top performer with a high potential for advancement who will thrive and benefit from this program.
Cost
You must be an NCMA member to apply, but there is no application fee. Materials, instruction, seminars, conferences, and mentoring are provided at no cost to participants. The only expense participants experience is travel-related costs to attend the three in-residence events. Applicants may seek support for these expenses in full or in part from their employers or their chapters. Your total travel expense for the program will vary depending upon where you live. Please review the budget worksheet found within the current application.
Application
The application period for the 2016–2017 CMLDP Class are now closed. For more information about future classes or questions, email cmldp@ncmahq.org.