Executive Director - Construction

Confidential; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 600,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential is seeking an Executive Director – Construction & Development with a Civil Engineering background to lead landmark projects, including high-rise towers and luxury hospitality developments, from pre-construction through handover.

The successful candidate will provide strategic leadership, direct multidisciplinary teams, manage budgets and schedules, uphold QA/QC, HSE, and risk controls, and cultivate key client and government relationships to ensure on-time delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering is mandatory.
• Minimum 20+ years of experience in construction and project delivery.
• Experience in senior leadership roles such as Executive Director or Operations Director.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for large-scale construction and development projects.
• Lead planning, execution, and delivery of landmark high-rise, hospitality, commercial, and mixed-use developments.
• Oversee project portfolio performance including cost, schedule, quality, safety, and client satisfaction.
• Manage relationships with clients, investors, consultants, and government authorities.
• Review and approve budgets, master schedules, procurement strategies, and resource plans.
• Drive QA/QC, HSE, sustainability, and risk mitigation across the portfolio.

Skills

Executive leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Negotiation

Communication

Risk management

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering

Job description

We are seeking a highly experienced Executive Director – Construction & Development with a strong Civil Engineering background and a proven track record in delivering landmark construction projects, high-rise towers, luxury hospitality developments, and mega-scale building projects.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience leading complex construction operations, managing executive-level project delivery, and overseeing multidisciplinary teams for prestigious developments. The candidate must have demonstrated success in delivering iconic projects such as high-rise towers, luxury hotels, resorts, mixed-use developments, and large-scale real estate projects from pre-construction through successful completion and handover.

The Executive Director will provide strategic leadership, ensure operational excellence, manage key stakeholders, and drive successful delivery of major projects while maintaining the highest standards of quality, safety, cost control, and schedule performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for large-scale construction and development projects.
• Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of landmark high-rise, hospitality, commercial, and mixed-use developments.
• Take overall responsibility for project portfolio performance, including cost, schedule, quality, safety, and client satisfaction.
• Oversee Project Directors, Senior Project Managers, Construction Managers, and technical teams.
• Establish project execution strategies, delivery frameworks, and governance structures.
• Manage relationships with clients, investors, consultants, PMC organizations, architects, contractors, and government authorities.
• Provide executive oversight on major project decisions, technical challenges, commercial matters, and risk mitigation.
• Review and approve project budgets, master schedules, procurement strategies, and resource plans.
• Drive construction excellence through effective planning, engineering solutions, and operational improvements.
• Ensure successful coordination between civil, structural, architectural, MEP, and specialist contractors.
• Lead strategic reviews of project progress and implement recovery plans when required.
• Oversee contract administration, commercial management, variations, claims, and dispute resolution.
• Ensure compliance with international construction standards, contractual requirements, and regulatory approvals.
• Champion Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE), and sustainability objectives.
• Support business development activities, tender evaluations, and strategic client relationships.
• Mentor and develop senior management teams to build organizational capability.
• Represent the company at executive meetings and high-level stakeholder forums.
• Ensure successful testing, commissioning, handover, and close-out of major developments.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering is mandatory.
• Minimum 20+ years of experience in construction and project delivery.
• Extensive experience in senior leadership roles such as Executive Director, Construction Director, Operations Director, or equivalent.
• High-rise towers and iconic skyscraper developments.
• Luxury hotels, resorts, and hospitality mega projects.
• Large-scale mixed-use and commercial developments.
• Premium residential and master-planned developments.
• Strong technical foundation in civil engineering, structural construction, and complex building execution.
• Experience managing projects from concept/pre-construction stage through completion and handover.
• Proven ability to lead large multidisciplinary teams and manage multiple stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of construction methodologies, contracts, procurement, project controls, and commercial management.
• Experience working with international consultants, PMC organizations, and major contractors.
• Strong knowledge of risk management, claims, variations, and dispute resolution.
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, communication, and strategic decision-making skills.

Preferred Experience

• Previous involvement in iconic or landmark developments recognized nationally or internationally.
• High-rise residential or commercial towers.
• Luxury five-star hotels and hospitality destinations.
• Mega tourism and entertainment developments.
• Experience with projects involving significant budgets, fast-track delivery, and complex stakeholder environments.
• GCC and international mega-project experience highly preferred.
• Civil Engineering Expertise
• Landmark Project Delivery
• Strategic Planning & Business Leadership