Negotiation and conflict are part of everyday work: agreeing priorities, budgets and timelines, working with colleagues, partners, suppliers, governments, donors or communities whose interests do not always match, and keeping working relationships intact when disagreements arise. This course builds the skills to handle these situations deliberately, rather than relying on instinct. Over four weeks, it moves from yourself to the wider system. You will understand your own emotions and reactions under pressure, prepare for and conduct interest-based negotiations, manage conflict and difficult conversations while maintaining trust, and learn how to sustain collaboration in complex, multi-stakeholder settings over the long term. Participants apply each step to a real situation from their own work, and finish with a personal action plan they can reuse.
The course is designed for managers, team leaders, coordinators and technical specialists, including programme and project managers, who negotiate and manage disagreements with colleagues, partners, governments, donors, suppliers or communities. It is relevant to professionals in international and national organizations, government, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. No previous training in negotiation or conflict management is needed. Participants should be fluent in English and ready to apply what they learn to a real situation from their own work.