Director - Parks and Green Spaces

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

The Director – Green Spaces & Landscaping is responsible for providing strategic leadership, governance and portfolio oversight for all landscape, horticulture, irrigation, parks, green corridors, streetscapes and public realm softscape assets across Qiddiya City. The role establishes the green spaces operating model, sets standards, drives contractor and consultant performance, and ensures landscaped assets are safe, sustainable, resilient, visually high quality and guest-ready throughout the year. The Director acts as the senior technical authority for landscaping and irrigation operations, including local horticultural practices, climate-appropriate planting, water efficiency, plant health and knowledge of plant species native to the Arabian Peninsula.

Key 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, including standards, policies, inspection routines, maintenance strategies, service levels, KPIs, reporting and escalation governance.
• Lead the operation and maintenance of parks, gardens, medians, boulevards, public realm landscapes, recreational landscapes and associated irrigation infrastructure to ensure safe, healthy, attractive and guest-ready environments.
• Act as the senior technical authority for landscaping, horticulture, irrigation and public realm softscape operations, ensuring designs, handovers and operating practices are maintainable, sustainable and aligned with local conditions.
• Drive sustainable landscape management, including water conservation, smart irrigation, climate-resilient planting, native and adaptive species strategies, biodiversity enhancement, green waste reduction and plant health management
• Provide senior operational input into design reviews, value engineering, project gateways, testing, commissioning, handover and acceptance decisions for new landscape and irrigation assets.
• Oversee asset registers, lifecycle plans, condition assessments, replacement programmes, risk registers, performance dashboards and operational readiness activities for all green space and landscape assets.
• Direct contractor, consultant and service provider performance through clear scopes of work, technical standards, audits, SLA/KPI management, commercial challenge, corrective action plans and governance reviews.
• Manage annual operating and capital budgets, identifying cost optimisation, resource planning and service improvement opportunities without compromising safety, quality, sustainability or guest experience.
• Build, lead and develop the landscaping and green spaces team, setting clear priorities, developing capability, promoting accountability and ensuring disciplined, evidence-based decision making.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Agriculture, Irrigation Engineering, Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, Facilities Management or a related discipline.
• Relevant professional or technical qualification in horticulture, irrigation management, arboriculture, landscape operations, asset management, project management, sustainability or health and safety is desirable.
• Typically 12–15+ years’ experience across landscaping, horticulture, irrigation, parks, public realm, environmental operations, facilities management or city-scale O&M, including significant experience in a senior leadership role.
• Demonstrable experience leading large-scale landscape operations, public realm maintenance, irrigation networks, contractor governance, operational readiness, asset handover and lifecycle planning.
• Strong experience with local horticultural practices, climate-appropriate planting, water-efficient landscape management and plant species native to the Arabian Peninsula.
• Desirable experience within master-planned cities or communities, mixed-use developments, entertainment destinations, giga-projects, municipal environments, parks, public realm assets or large-scale developments within Saudi Arabia or the GCC.