Director - Development - Retail (SPA-50013068)

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

Job summary

Qiddiya in Riyadh seeks a Director, Development to lead the Commercial Office Development portfolio, guiding strategic planning, feasibility, design oversight, procurement, and delivery across office assets and districts.

You will drive integration across planning, delivery, and operations, ensure governance and financial discipline, and align with brand partners and tenants to realize long-term asset value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate Development, Property Development, Urban Planning, Architecture, Construction Management, Engineering, or related field.
• 10–12 years of experience in retail, mixed-use or commercial real estate development with managerial experience.
• Professional certifications (e.g., RICS, ULI, PMI, CIOB, ICSC) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead development planning, sequencing, and execution to align with business objectives and asset positioning.
• Oversee end-to-end development lifecycle from concept to handover and operational readiness.
• Evaluate feasibility, financials, and business cases to inform investment decisions and value optimization.
• Ensure governance, compliance, and risk management across assigned developments.
• Coordinate planning, design, commercial, delivery, and operations for integrated execution.
• Engage tenants, partners, and operators to enable activation and asset functionality.
• Monitor performance, risks, and delivery milestones, implementing mitigations as needed.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder management

Delivery governance

Commercial office development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Real Estate Development/related field

Master's degree in Real Estate Development / MBA (preferred)

Job description

The Director, Development is responsible for leading the Commercial Office Business Unit's development portfolio and driving the successful planning, execution, and delivery of commercial office assets and districts. The role provides strategic leadership across the entire development lifecycle, including business planning, feasibility, investment evaluation, design oversight, procurement, construction delivery governance, operational readiness, and asset optimization.

Key Responsibilities

Development Planning and Execution

• Develop implementation approaches, delivery schedules, and execution activities for assigned developments in alignment with approved business objectives, development requirements, and asset positioning to achieve coordinated delivery and approved development outcomes.

• Manage development sequencing, integration activities, and delivery planning across assigned developments to maintain implementation timelines and achievement of approved development objectives.

• Present development and commercial input related to market requirements, demand considerations, and asset positioning to inform commercially viable and operationally sustainable development outcomes.

Development Lifecycle Management

• Manage end-to-end development delivery for assigned developments spanning concept development, delivery coordination, handover, and operational readiness to achieve approved objectives, operational requirements, and opening milestones.

• Monitor development delivery performance for assigned developments to ensure delivery of approved quality, schedule, cost, and operational readiness targets.

• Ensure continuity and integration between development phases and delivery milestones to promote effective execution and consistent delivery outcomes.

Financial Management and Value Optimization

• Evaluate feasibility assessments, financial evaluations, and business case inputs for assigned developments to inform investment evaluations, development decision-making, and commercial alignment requirements.

• Contribute to value optimization initiatives through scope alignment, commercial enhancement opportunities, lifecycle considerations, and delivery efficiencies to enhance long-term asset performance and development value realization.

• Ensure adherence to approved financial parameters, commercial controls, and investment requirements to maintain disciplined expenditure management and alignment with approved development objectives.

Development Governance and Assurance

• Ensure compliance with organizational standards, governance requirements, development policies, and regulatory obligations to enable compliant development execution and effective risk management across assigned developments.

• Review governance submissions, approval requirements, and stage-gate activities for assigned developments to ensure adherence to approved priorities, development requirements, and organizational controls.

• Monitor governance compliance, reporting requirements, and development assurance activities to enable transparent decision-making, governance oversight, and timely escalation of development risks and issues.

Integrated Development Coordination

• Manage coordination among planning, design, commercial, delivery, and operational workstreams for assigned developments to achieve integrated execution and effective management of development activities.

• Ensure effective collaboration among business units, central functions, consultants, contractors, operators, and delivery stakeholders to maintain alignment with development priorities and delivery requirements.

• Monitor development interdependencies, stakeholder interfaces, and sequencing requirements for assigned developments to enable integrated delivery, operational readiness, and effective execution.

Partner and Operational Integration

• Manage engagement with tenants, operators, partners, brands, service providers, and internal stakeholders to achieve operational integration, tenant readiness, and activation readiness across assigned developments.

• Contribute development input to operational readiness, activation planning, and integration activities to maintain asset functionality, delivery alignment, and long-term operational requirements.

• Ensure operator, partner, brand, and service provider requirements are incorporated into development planning, design, and delivery activities to achieve asset functionality, activation readiness, and operational success.

Development Performance and Risk Management

• Monitor development performance, delivery progress, and execution outcomes across assigned developments to promote achievement of approved development objectives, operational readiness, and delivery performance requirements.

• Manage development risks, mitigation actions, issue resolution activities, and recovery measures for assigned developments to minimize disruption and maintain delivery outcomes.
• Consolidate development reporting, performance monitoring information, and governance tracking activities for assigned developments to enable informed decision-making, performance oversight, and timely management intervention.

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Real Estate Development, Property Development, Urban Planning, Architecture, Construction Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.

• Preferred: Master's degree in Real Estate Development, Property Development, Retail Development, Urban Development, Business Administration (MBA), or a related field.

• A minimum of 10-12 years of experience in retail development, mixed-use development, commercial real estate development, destination development, or integrated development environments, with relevant exposure in development management or development coordination roles, including relevant years in a managerial role.

• Professional certifications or memberships with recognized real estate, retail, development, construction, or project management institutes (e.g., RICS, ULI, PMI, CIOB, ICSC) are preferred.