Principal Consultant/ Associate Director – Transaction Advisory

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 500,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Jacobs in Riyadh seeks a Principal Consultant/Associate Director to lead Transaction Advisory and PPP engagements across the Middle East. You will manage multidisciplinary teams and drive growth of the practice, delivering due diligence, financial modeling, and procurement support for public and private sector clients.

The role requires 8+ years in infrastructure/PPP advisory, based in Riyadh (or willing to relocate), with Arabic preferred and strong stakeholder relationships across the GCC.

Qualifications

• Degree in planning, engineering, architecture or finance.
• Strong analytical, quantitative and strategic thinking and decision-making skills.
• Experience producing high-quality technical reports.
• Experience in Water, Rail, Aviation, Ports, Transportation, Mobility, Buildings or Social Infrastructure.
• Arabic language proficiency preferred; based in Riyadh or willing to relocate.
• 8+ years of PPP transaction advisory experience, including team and client management.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex advisory engagements in transaction advisory and PPP.
• Develop and drive growth of the team within Jacobs.
• Perform strategic analysis, due diligence, and transaction advice on major infrastructure projects.
• Support policy development and programs to accelerate private sector PPPs.
• Provide leadership and mentoring to consultants and project teams.
• Act as project manager and trusted advisor to public and private sector clients.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Due diligence

Financial modeling

PPP knowledge

Education

Engineering/Finance degree

Job description

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

At Jacobs, we challenge today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical infrastructure, economic, and societal challenges. Our Advisory team works alongside governments, investors, and infrastructure developers to shape, develop, and deliver projects that create long-term value and positive impact.

We are seeking a Principal Consultant/ Associate Director – Transaction Advisory to join our Strategic Advisory team in the Middle East. This is a role focused on Transaction Advisory and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP/P3), advising public and private sector clients across the full project lifecycle—from early-stage strategy and project development through procurement, commercial structuring, transaction execution, and implementation.

The successful candidate will lead complex advisory engagements, manage multidisciplinary teams, build trusted client relationships, and support the continued growth of our Transactions and PPP advisory business across the region.

What You'll Do:

As a Principal Consultant/ Associate Director – Transaction Advisory, you will play a pivotal role in delivering high-impact transaction advisory and PPP engagements while supporting the growth of the practice.

Your responsibilities will include:

• As a Technical consultant, your main responsibility will be to work with the regional consulting teams by participating in the development and driving growth of the team within the Jacobs organization.
• Work on strategic positioning and value proposition development, strategic technical analysis, due diligence, and transaction advice on major infrastructure projects.
• Work on PPP/P3 projects including development, structuring and delivery of PPP projects, value-for-money analysis, due diligence and technical reporting.
• Support clients in formulating policies, strategies and programs to accelerate private sector development and public-private partnerships.
• Work on strategy development, due diligence, risk appraisal, project monitoring, modeling, business cases and economic appraisal.
• Provide technical support in business cases, RFP documents, preliminary design and specification development.

Here's what you'll need

• A degree or professional qualification in planning, engineering, architecture or finance
• Excellent analytical, quantitative, qualitative, strategic thinking and decision-making skills.
• Experience producing high-quality technical reports.
• Experience in sectors such as Water, Rail, Aviation, Ports, Transportation, Mobility, Buildings or Social Infrastructure.
• Awareness of industry standards including procurement models, design and build standards, maintenance standards, asset management standards and contracts.
• Strong research, analysis, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to develop feasibility studies, business case appraisals and business models.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the PPP process.
• Experience evaluating technical and commercial aspects of PPP projects.

Additional PPP Leadership Requirements

• Lead and manage multidisciplinary teams across PPP/P3 project lifecycles, including project development, procurement, transaction execution, contract management, and stakeholder engagement.
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and technical oversight to consultants and project teams, ensuring high-quality delivery of transaction advisory services.
• Act as a project manager and trusted advisor to public and private sector clients on complex infrastructure and PPP transactions.

Additional Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing the delivery of PPP/P3 projects and transaction advisory assignments in Saudi and GCC.
• Proven experience overseeing project teams, coordinating stakeholders, and delivering complex infrastructure transactions.
• Arabic language proficiency is strongly preferred.
• Candidates must be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, or be willing to relocate to Riyadh.
• 8+ years of relevant infrastructure and PPP transaction advisory experience is preferred, including experience managing teams and client relationships.

Jacobs. A world where you can.

From our inclusive employee networks to our positive mental health champions – we are committed to driving a culture of caring where you can be you. Joining Jacobs not only connects you locally but globally - and together, our diverse perspectives and unique backgrounds power our collective strength. We collaborate and share! By supporting one another, we all succeed. With safety and flexibility always top of mind, we have gone beyond traditional ways of working so you have the support, means and space to maximize your potential. You will uncover flexible working arrangements, benefits, and opportunities to do good too – from participating in our global giving and volunteering program, to exploring new and inventive ways to help our clients make the world a better place. No matter what drives you, you will discover how you can cultivate, nurture and achieve your goals – all at a single global company. Start your Jacobs career with a company that inspires and empowers you to deliver your best work so you can evolve, grow and succeed – today and into tomorrow.

From our inclusive employee networks to our positive mental health champions – we’re committed to driving a culture of caring where you can be you. Joining Jacobs not only connects you locally but globally - and together, our diverse perspectives and unique backgrounds power our collective strength. We collaborate and share! By supporting one another, we all succeed.

With safety and flexibility always top of mind, we’ve gone beyond traditional ways of working so you have the support, means and space to maximize your potential. You’ll uncover flexible working arrangements, benefits and opportunities to do good too – from participating in our global giving and volunteering program, to exploring new and inventive ways to help our clients make the world a better place.

No matter what drives you, you’ll discover how you can cultivate, nurture and achieve your goals – all at a single global company.

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Your application experience is important to us, and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support .