Director of Green Spaces & Landscaping Strategy

Qiddiya; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Qiddiya is seeking a Director to provide strategic leadership and governance for all landscape, horticulture, irrigation, parks and public realm assets across the city. The role establishes the operating model, standards and KPIs, driving contractor performance and ensuring safe, sustainable, and guest-ready landscapes year-round.

The Director acts as the senior technical authority for landscaping operations, overseeing lifecycle planning, asset handover and climate-appropriate planting, with a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification as listed in the job description.
• Typically 12–15+ years’ experience across landscaping, horticulture, irrigation, parks, public realm, environmental operations or city-scale O&M.
• Significant senior leadership experience with large-scale landscape operations and asset lifecycle planning.
• Desirable experience in master-planned cities or giga-projects within Saudi Arabia or GCC.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and governance for green spaces, landscaping, horticulture, irrigation, parks, green corridors, streetscapes and public realm softscape assets across Qiddiya City.
• Establish and maintain the green spaces operating model, standards, policies, inspection routines, maintenance strategies, service levels, KPIs, reporting and escalation governance.
• Lead operation and maintenance of parks, gardens, medians, boulevards, public realm landscapes and irrigation infrastructure to ensure safe, healthy, attractive environments.
• Act as senior technical authority for landscaping, horticulture, irrigation and public realm operations, ensuring designs, handovers and operating practices are maintainable and climate-appropriate.
• Drive sustainable landscape management including water conservation, smart irrigation, climate-resilient planting and biodiversity enhancement.
• Provide senior operational input into design reviews, value engineering, project gateways and handovers for new landscape assets.
• Oversee asset registers, lifecycle plans, condition assessments, replacement programs and risk dashboards.
• Direct contractor, consultant and service provider performance through scoping, standards, audits, SLA/KPI management and governance reviews.
• Manage annual operating and capital budgets with a focus on cost optimisation without compromising safety and quality.
• Build, lead and develop the landscaping and green spaces team with clear priorities and accountability.
• Demonstrate strong experience with local horticultural practices and native species.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Governance

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Team leadership

Contractor governance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Agriculture, Irrigation Engineering, Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, Facilities Management or related discipline

Job description

Qiddiya is seeking a Director to provide strategic leadership and governance for all landscape, horticulture, irrigation, parks and public realm assets across the city. The role establishes the operating model, standards and KPIs, driving contractor performance and ensuring safe, sustainable, and guest-ready landscapes year-round.

The Director acts as the senior technical authority for landscaping operations, overseeing lifecycle planning, asset handover and climate-appropriate planting, with a