Excellence Director - Quality and Improvement

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 502,000 - 725,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is seeking an Excellence Director - Quality and Improvement in Riyadh to lead enterprise quality systems, risk management, and performance excellence across a major infrastructure program. You will direct the Quality Management System, drive standardization, and mentor multidisciplinary teams to deliver measurable improvements.

The role requires deep expertise in ISO 9000 and related standards, plus strong executive communication, governance, and change management capabilities in a

Qualifications

• BS in Engineering from an accredited university with 20+ years in large complex projects.
• Direct oversight across quality, risk, training, and continuous improvement disciplines.
• Expertise in ISO 9000 and related quality standards; CMQ/OE, CQA, or CQE preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead quality, risk, training, and knowledge transfer across the program.
• Develop and maintain the Parsons Quality Management System.
• Guide executive management on quality performance and improvement priorities.
• Strengthen quality culture across project teams through leadership and coaching.

Skills

Quality Mgmt

ISO 9000

Quality Assurance

Continuous Improvement

Risk Management

Process Improvement

Change Management

Management Reviews

Quality Audits

Leadership

Project Controls

Cost Control

Schedule Control

Root Cause Analysis

Executive Reporting

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

MS Word

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Tools

MS Word

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

Job description

Job Snapshot

Role: Excellence Director - Quality and Improvement Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Industry: Construction Function: Quality Assurance Experience: Minimum 20 years Job Type: Full-time Position Overview Excellence Director - Quality and Improvement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a senior Construction leadership opportunity focused on enterprise quality systems, continuous improvement, risk management, training, knowledge transfer, and performance excellence across a major program. Parsons is hiring an experienced director to lead Quality Management System development, strengthen compliance with international standards, improve organizational performance, and guide multidisciplinary teams toward measurable excellence outcomes. Job Details Country: Saudi Arabia City: Riyadh Industry: Construction Function: Quality Assurance Salary: 45000-65000 Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer. Gender: Any Candidate Nationality: Any Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Excellence Director will provide strategic leadership across quality, risk, training, process improvement, and knowledge transfer activities for a major infrastructure program. The role is responsible for ensuring that project and program outputs align with Parsons requirements, client expectations, applicable standards, and established excellence frameworks. Working closely with executive leadership, program management, engineering, construction, procurement, contracts, safety, project controls, and client representatives, the director will shape the systems and culture that support consistent performance. The position will also use management reviews, performance metrics, audit findings, risk information, and operational data to identify trends, improve processes, strengthen capability, and maintain a high-performing Quality Management System.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic direction of excellence activities covering quality, continuous improvement, risk, training, and knowledge transfer across the program.
• Develop, implement, maintain, and continuously improve the Parsons Quality Management System as the foundation for process control, procedure development, reporting, and training.
• Direct quality system optimization initiatives and ensure processes remain practical, measurable, and aligned with program delivery requirements.
• Manage and support maintenance of Parsons Excellence-related certifications and associated compliance activities.
• Provide senior-level advice to executive management on quality performance, improvement priorities, organizational risks, and emerging trends.
• Facilitate Management Reviews and coordinate inputs and outputs with business unit Excellence representatives and senior stakeholders.
• Strengthen the culture of Quality across project and program teams through leadership, training, coaching, and performance monitoring.
• Identify capability gaps within quality, risk, and training disciplines and implement appropriate development actions.
• Provide guidance and technical support to Parsons and client personnel on excellence requirements, systems, procedures, and performance expectations.
• Act as the senior liaison with projects, customers, contractors, and internal departments on quality-related matters and resource requirements.
• Use data from audits, performance reports, risk registers, quality records, and other sources to identify systemic issues and improvement opportunities.
• Present significant excellence concerns, trends, and recommendations to executive management.
• Develop and refine performance metrics that enable leadership to assess organizational effectiveness and process maturity.
• Recommend changes to policies, procedures, systems, and controls where measurable performance improvement can be achieved.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives involving project controls, safety, risk, procurement, contracts, financial management, quality assurance, and quality control.
• Support change management programs aimed at improving operating practices across complex infrastructure delivery environments.
• Review business performance using indicators such as cost, productivity, process effectiveness, risk exposure, and return on investment.
• Direct quality personnel and ensure day-to-day activities and special improvement projects are completed within agreed timelines.
• Participate in recruitment, selection, staffing assignments, and workforce planning for excellence-related functions.
• Conduct performance evaluations and provide recommendations regarding employee development, advancement, status changes, or corrective action.
• Support salary administration activities, including annual planning and recommendations associated with merit increases and promotions.
• Maintain effective relationships with executive leadership, project teams, clients, contractors, regulatory stakeholders, and external quality organizations.

Ideal Profile

The role requires a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from an accredited university together with at least 20 years of professional experience gained on large and complex projects. Candidates should have direct oversight experience across several major program functions, including project controls, cost, schedule, scope, trends, environment, health and safety, risk management, contracts, procurement, financial management, quality assurance, and quality control. At least 10 years of supervisory or management experience is required, with demonstrated ability to lead experienced multidisciplinary personnel and influence senior-level stakeholders. Strong practical expertise in Quality Management Systems and international quality standards is essential. Candidates should have proven experience implementing systems and standards associated with ISO 9000, ASME, ANSI, ASTM, and comparable organizations. The preferred background includes infrastructure programs delivered for major government or semi-government organizations, with previous Middle East and Saudi Arabia experience particularly valuable. Candidates should demonstrate advanced knowledge of process improvement, organizational change, performance management, leadership initiatives, risk assessment, and quality culture development. Quality-related certifications such as CMQ/OE, CQA, or CQE are required or should be obtainable within six months of joining. Active membership in a recognized Quality organization is preferred. Professional Engineer registration or Chartered Engineer status will be advantageous. Strong written and spoken English, executive presentation ability, analytical thinking, risk assessment skills, sound judgment, and confidence when engaging senior client and management representatives are essential.

Skills Set

• Quality Management Systems
• ISO 9000
• Quality assurance
• Continuous improvement
• Performance excellence
• Risk management
• Process improvement
• Change management
• Management Reviews
• Quality audits
• Quality certification
• Quality metrics
• Performance measurement
• Quality culture development
• Project controls
• Cost control
• Schedule control
• Scope management
• Risk assessment
• Contracts oversight
• Procurement oversight
• Financial management
• Quality control
• Training and development
• Knowledge transfer
• Executive reporting
• Management systems
• ASME standards
• ANSI standards
• ASTM standards
• CMQ/OE
• CQA
• CQE
• Organizational performance
• Business process optimization
• Root cause analysis
• Corrective action management
• Leadership development
• Stakeholder management
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Quality reporting
• Program governance

Why Join Us

Major infrastructure programs in Riyadh require increasingly sophisticated quality, governance, risk, and continuous improvement leadership as delivery environments become larger and more integrated. This position offers the opportunity to shape excellence strategy across a significant program while working directly with executive management, clients, and multidisciplinary delivery teams. The role provides a senior professional with broad influence over systems, culture, capability development, and performance improvement. It is particularly suited to an experienced quality leader seeking to apply international standards, program governance, change management, and organizational excellence expertise within a complex Saudi infrastructure environment.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation provides engineering, infrastructure, technology, construction management, and program delivery services across major transportation and urban development initiatives. In Saudi Arabia, its multidisciplinary teams support large and complex programs through expertise in quality management, project controls, engineering, risk, procurement, construction, and operational excellence.