Associate / Principle Strategic Urban Planners

WS Atkins & Partners Overseas Engineering Consultants; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tax-free salary

Life insurance

Medical insurance

Annual leave balance

Gratuity scheme

Discretionary bonus program

Annual flight contribution

Transportation & housing allowances

Wellbeing program

Job summary

AtkinsRéalis seeks an experienced Associate/Principal Strategic Urban Planner to join our Planning and Urban Development team in the Middle East. The role covers complex strategic planning, master planning, and development frameworks across the region, requiring strong policy and land-use expertise.

Ideal candidates will have a solid background in spatial planning, stakeholder engagement, and producing high-quality technical reports for multidisciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning or related field.
• Master's degree in Urban Planning or related field is highly desirable.
• Professional accreditation or membership with a recognized planning institution is preferred.
• Significant professional experience in strategic urban planning or master planning, with Middle East exposure is expected.

Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to strategic urban planning, regional planning, city planning, and master planning projects.
• Develop strategic spatial frameworks, land-use strategies, development frameworks, growth scenarios, and planning policies.
• Undertake analysis of urban conditions, demographics, land use, infrastructure, mobility, and environmental constraints.
• Prepare urban growth strategies, spatial development plans, and structure plans.
• Translate strategic objectives into implementable spatial and land-use recommendations.
• Coordinate planning activities with transport, infrastructure, environmental, and design disciplines.
• Prepare technical reports, planning strategies, and client deliverables.
• Manage project scope, programme, resources, and quality.

Skills

Strategic urban planning

Spatial planning

Master planning

GIS proficiency

Stakeholder management

Report writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning

Master's degree in Urban Planning

Tools

GIS tools

Job description

Job Description Overview

Atkinsrealis seeks an experienced Associate / Principal Strategic Urban Planner to join our Planning and Urban Development team. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering complex strategic planning, urban development, and master planning assignments across the Middle East. The position requires strong expertise in strategic planning, spatial planning, land-use planning, development frameworks, and urban policy, with the ability to translate economic, social, environmental, and infrastructure considerations into integrated and implementable planning strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to strategic urban planning, regional planning, city planning, and master planning projects.
• Develop strategic spatial frameworks, land-use strategies, development frameworks, growth scenarios, and planning policies.
• Undertake analysis of existing urban conditions, demographics, land use, infrastructure, mobility, environmental constraints, and development opportunities.
• Prepare urban growth strategies, spatial development plans, structure plans, and strategic planning frameworks.
• Translate strategic objectives and development visions into practical spatial and land-use recommendations.
• Coordinate urban planning activities with transport, infrastructure, environmental, landscape, economic, and urban design disciplines.
• Conduct planning assessments, benchmarking studies, development capacity assessments, and planning policy reviews.
• Support the development of planning regulations, development controls, zoning strategies, planning guidelines, and implementation frameworks.
• Evaluate alternative development scenarios and provide evidence-based recommendations to clients.
• Lead or support stakeholder engagement workshops with government authorities, developers, municipalities, and other key stakeholders.
• Prepare high-quality technical reports, planning strategies, presentations, and client deliverables.
• Manage project scope, programme, resources, technical quality, and planning deliverables.
• Review work produced by planners and junior team members, ensuring technical accuracy and consistency.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior and mid-level urban planning professionals.
• Maintain an understanding of emerging trends in sustainable urban development, smart cities, transit-oriented development, climate resilience, and integrated planning.
• Contribute to proposals, bids, technical methodologies, fee estimates, and business development activities.

About you

• Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Town Planning, Regional Planning, Urban and Regional Planning, Geography, or a closely related discipline.
• Master's degree in Urban Planning, Strategic Planning, Urban Development, or a related discipline is highly desirable.
• Relevant professional accreditation or membership with a recognized planning institution is preferred.
• Significant professional experience in strategic urban planning, spatial planning, master planning, or urban development.
• Demonstrated experience working on large-scale city, regional, master planning, or strategic development projects.
• Strong understanding of land-use planning, spatial strategy, planning policy, development controls, and urban growth management.
• Ability to interpret demographic, socioeconomic, spatial, infrastructure, and environmental information to support strategic planning decisions.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary consulting teams.
• Strong report writing, presentation, communication, and stakeholder-management capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, deadlines, and multidisciplinary interfaces.
• Strong client-facing and presentation skills.
• Experience managing and mentoring planning professionals is expected for the Associate / Principal level.
• Proficiency with relevant planning and spatial analysis tools, including GIS-based applications, is advantageous.
• Previous experience delivering major planning or urban development projects in the Middle East / GCC region is highly desirable.

Rewards & benefits

• Tax-free salary.
• Life insurance coverage.
• Medical insurance.
• Annual leave balance.
• Company gratuity scheme.
• Discretionary bonus program.
• Annual flight contribution.
• Transportation & housing allowances.
• Employee Wellbeing Program: 24/7 access to specialists in finance, legal matters, familycare, personal health, fitness, and nutrition.

About AtkinsRéalis

We're AtkinsRéalis, a world‑class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people. Find out more.

Employment Details

Worker Type Employee Job Type Regular

At AtkinsRéalis, we seek to hire individuals with diverse characteristics, backgrounds and perspectives. We strongly believe that world-class talent makes no distinctions based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual identity and orientation, age, religion or disability, but enriches itself through these differences.