Director - Development

Qiddiya; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Qiddiya is seeking a Director - Development to lead city-wide development efforts, integrating roads, utilities, environment, and landscape within the Qiddiya City framework. You will enforce development processes, align with local regulations, and coordinate with core development and planning teams across districts.

You will manage budgets, programs, and stakeholder relationships, ensuring timely handover to operations while fostering innovation, governance, and accountability throughout a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• 15+ years of experience in development projects with permits.
• Experience in GCC region is desirable.
• 5–10 years in land use planning, permitting, and master planning.
• Private sector development experience is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee master planning and development approvals, ensuring alignment with district policies and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate regulatory approvals and liaise with government ministries, agencies and stakeholders.
• Manage project budgets, programs, procurement strategies and governance papers.
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams, ensure clear communication across geographies and functions.
• Drive risk mitigation, reporting, and governance through stage gates and approvals.
• Support program scheduling, interfaces, and delivery against objectives.

Skills

Master planning

Stakeholder mgmt

Leadership

Analytical thinking

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

GIS software

CAD software

Job description

Join our dynamic team to play a pivotal role in one of the most ambitious and game-changing development projects of our time. As theDirector - Development, You will implement various development tasks within theQiddiya City-Wide development. Which requires integration of roads, transport, dry utilities, wet utilities, district cooling, security, hydrology, environment and landscape to bring our vision to life.

You will implement & enforce Qiddiya development process, aligning with the Qiddiya city and local regulatory frameworks. You'll collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams, manage internal and stakeholder relationships, and ensure seamless alignment between Core Development teams, Planning & Design Teams, & serviced plots and districts. This is a high-impact role with an opportunity to shape the future of urban development in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

You will be responsible for overseeing the process, progress, budget, & program of moving the development from planning to projects up to the handover to operation stage. This includes ensuring the regional entities' requirements are incorporated as needed without impacting the development objectives. These regional entities include utilities authorities & service providers. Municipal and hydrology authorities. Surveying authorities. Civic Services, social services, Planning authorities, as needed and appliable.

You'll be encouraging your team to come with new ideas, elevate enthusiasm, and ensure team clarity on expectations.

Also you will ensure a clear communication to the team who are with a wide range of people from different backgrounds, roles, levels and geographies

You will be executing the vision of the district leadership team, aligning with various internal departments including implementation, cost planning, programming, procurement and reporting.

You'll be working on a transformative, globally significant giga project that seeks to redefine how we live, work and most importantly PLAY! You'll work alongside industry-leading professionals and enjoy unparalleled opportunities to showcase your professional capabilities and skills in a fast-paced environment.

1- Key Development Functions

• Fully comprehend the Qiddiya development processes, governance procedures, procurement policies to support your day-to-day development activities.
• Extract and distil the key development parameters from strategy briefs, local laws, environmental constraints, and future proofing of the area of interest.
• Transcribe the utilities operators/local authorities’ requirements into standard development briefs in line with the approved stage gate process and standard format.
• Prepare stage gate presentations and coordinate with the internal stakeholders and interfacing departments to obtain consensus and alignment.
• Prepare key governance approval papers (presentations) to the different levels of governance (PCG, N-2, N-1, and DevCom) and coordinate any BoD level slides with the commercial and reporting department.
• Prepare procurement strategies in coordination with shared services units (Planning and design, Commercial, projects and any other specific units as needed) to meet the development objectives and approved budgets
• Evaluate land use proposals to ensure they align with Qiddiya City and District policies, regulations and guidelines.
• Evaluate proposals from Asset Teams/Planning teams/Interfacing Business Units that would result in changs to districts’ plans and designs.
• Conduct the impact assessment through internal/consultants of any proposed land use planning changes.
• Manage the interfaces, updates, and refinements to the framework plan and designs alongside the internal team and utilizing consultancy expertise where required.

2- Stakeholder Coordination

• Act as a liaison between the district master developer, architects, engineers, government ministries and agencies, and community stakeholders.
• Coordinate regulatory approvals to ensure seamless coordination with the development build programme.
• Maintain relationships with all internal stakeholders to ensure that any city-level strategies are analyzed and implemented into the designs.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including governmental agencies, NWC, SEC, community leaders, and investors as instructed by the Development leads.
• Build strong relationships with the Development leadership which is essential to facilitate the construction of the Roads and Infrastructure within the Districts in full coordination with the Districts Assets time schedule.
• Arrange visits, meetings and coordinate site visits and inspection of Sr Management and dignitaries.

3- Projects Planning and Assessment

• Evaluate proposed infrastructure assets and network deployment plans to satisfy the development requirements (capacity, location, and program).
• Evaluate the proposed public realm requirements (grading, elements, Audio/Visual, lighting, security, and final fixes) and the deployment plans to satisfy the development requirements (constructability, sequencing, program) to align with opening.
• Assess proposed construction sequencing and input into the program and engage with the Master Development Team to adjust the spatial planning of assets & networks (locations of cables, pipes, ICT ducts, roads, landscaping features) to best meet the overarching development requirements.
• Provide input into the procurement packaging through critical thinking and testing of options to best meet the development requirements.
• Provide input into the budget and cost estimation of the project and be accountable to deliver the project within the approved budget.
• Provide input into the project program and support in identifying the gaps early on and be accountable to deliver the project within the approved program.
• Participate into the drafting of project agreements including any particular conditions related to the project location, program, or conditions of execution.
• Review and provide comments on the project design and ensure Qiddiya's requirements are reflected and identify any changes from the allocated plots and corridors.
• Identify risks and provide mitigation plans for the project delivery and execution.
• Propose the project execution organization chart and ensure a compact and efficient team structure (be able to cut out the unnecessary roles) and use existing teams to maximize efficient use of resources.
• Work with the development leads to applying the required façade or theme for the installed assets.

4- Interface with Project Teams

Project teams are essential to ensure the delivery of the development vision; you will need to:

• Provide support and direction to the project team, ensuring effective coordination and communication across all phases of project delivery.
• Review and comment on the project plans, including scope, schedules, budgets, and risk management strategies.
• Monitor project progress, providing regular updates to senior management and stakeholders regarding milestones, budget adherence, and potential risks.
• Conduct regular site inspections and meetings to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
• Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within project teams, promoting best practices and lessons learned.
• Manage disputes, issues, and conflicts, ensuring effective resolution and maintaining project momentum.
• Review and comment on the propose mitigation measures: propose & report to QIC Leadership (through extensive engagements with all stakeholders) mitigation measures to reduce project delays. These measures are as follows but are not limited to:

1. Propose Alternative procurement methodologies.
2. Reprioritization of projects and programs.
3. Staff Restructuring and Development.

• Conduct value management exercises by strategically engaging the stakeholders to maintain the agreed quality and scope as included in the project brief and with a high representation of value for money.

5- Process Management

• Monitor the progress of approval processes and resolve delays or issues.
• Maintain accurate records of permits, interfaces register, approvals, and correspondence.
• Draft consultant instructions for master developers to issue to the consulates following the approval of changes (including capacity, spatial allocation, connection points, or subdivision).
• Draft scope or works as needed for the procurement of dedicated and/or multidisciplinary consultancy expertise as and when required, ensuring compliance with all internal policies and processes.
• Conduct and manage weekly and monthly project dashboards and reporting to the district leadership on all land development matters.
• Report to the Central Development Unit and Reporting and Commercial departments the progress and budget performance of the project and implement any related processes.
• Prepare and deliver executive level presentations, and report on the progress of the project on a weekly and monthly basis.

6- Policy Understanding and Advocacy

• Take the initiative and stay informed about changes in regulations, policies and strategies at a regional, national, state and Qiddiya City level.
• Advocate for master plans, designs and project approvals by presenting data and justifications to regulatory bodies and all internal stakeholders, boards and Senior Management.
• Enforce a culture of safety and quality throughout the project execution that meets the aspiring vision of Qiddiya.
• Be an advocate for the approved process and regulations and channel any changes and contributions through the approved governance processes.

1- Educational Background:

Bachelor's degree

2- Experience:

• Proven track record of at least a minimum 15+ years of relevant experience in development projects.
• Proven track record of securing permits for complex, large-scale developments.
• Experience in theming and façade installation for infrastructure is desirable.
• In Kingdom experience and relations with suppliers and contractors are desirable for the role.
• A minimum of 5-10 years of experience in land use planning, permitting and compliance, development approvals, master planning and/or land development, with at least 3-years experience of working on large-scale projects.
• Private sector development experience would be highly desirable.

3- Technical Skills:

• Strong understanding of master planning process, end-to-end land development, stakeholder management and process management.
• Familiarity with GIS tools, CAD software, and environmental impact analysis are desirable.
• Strong knowledge of zoning laws, entitlement processes, and regulatory frameworks (ideally within GCC).

4- Soft Skills:

• Adept at managing multiple stakeholders and navigating political landscapes.
• Fastidious attention to detail.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and manage diverse teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Exceptional negotiation, communication, problem-solving and interpersonal skills, capable of building effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Willingness to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities.
• Ability to influence decision makers via power point presentations.