Project Director - Major Infrastructure and Development Projects

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is seeking an experienced Project Director in Riyadh to lead delivery of large-scale infrastructure and development programs. You will oversee strategic governance, commercial and technical management, and cross-disciplinary teams to ensure performance, safety, and client satisfaction from initiation through handover.

The role requires over 20 years of progressive project delivery, strong commercial judgment, and the ability to manage complex interfaces with multiple stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 20+ years progressive project delivery experience, incl. senior leadership roles.
• Proven ability to lead complex, multi-discipline projects with multiple contract packages.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and governance for delivery across scopes, schedules, budgets, and client requirements.
• Direct multidisciplinary teams including engineering, design, procurement, construction, and project controls.
• Oversee commercial and contractual management, change control, and risk mitigation.
• Maintain executive communication with senior clients and stakeholders; deliver periodic performance reviews.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Presentation

Decision-making

Project management

Risk management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Construction/Project Management

Tools

BIM

Scheduling software

Project controls software

Document management systems

Job description

Job Snapshot

• Role: Project Director
• Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Industry: Engineering
• Function: Project Management
• Experience: Over 20 years of progressive experience, including significant senior project leadership experience
• Job Type: Full Time
• Work Arrangement: On-site

Position Overview

Parsons is seeking an experienced Project Director to lead the successful delivery of large-scale, complex projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This senior leadership position carries overall responsibility for the strategic, commercial, technical, and operational management of major infrastructure, building, mixed-use, and development projects. The Project Director will oversee project execution from initiation through completion, ensuring that scope, schedules, budgets, quality standards, safety requirements, contractual commitments, and client expectations are effectively managed. Working with multidisciplinary teams, consultants, contractors, and senior stakeholders, the successful candidate will establish project governance, direct delivery strategies, manage commercial and technical risks, and maintain accountability for project performance. The role requires more than 20 years of progressive project delivery experience, strong commercial judgment, and a proven ability to lead complex projects involving multiple disciplines, contract packages, and stakeholders.

Job Details

• Country: Saudi Arabia
• City: Riyadh
• Industry: Engineering
• Function: Project Management
• Salary: Not disclosed
• Gender: No Preference
• Candidate Nationality: Not specified
• Job Type: Full Time
• Work Arrangement: On-site

What You 'll Be Doing

Strategic Project Leadership and Governance

• Provide overall leadership, direction, and accountability for project delivery, ensuring alignment with contractual obligations, business objectives, client expectations, and approved execution plans.
• Establish project governance arrangements, delivery strategies, decision‑making procedures, reporting structures, and clearly defined responsibilities.
• Develop, review, and maintain the Project Execution Plan, ensuring that functional management plans and project procedures are integrated and implemented effectively.
• Direct multidisciplinary teams covering engineering, design, procurement, construction, project controls, commercial management, quality, safety, and stakeholder coordination.
• Maintain executive oversight of project performance and take appropriate corrective action when delivery objectives are at risk.
• Lead senior‑level progress reviews and strategic meetings, ensuring that decisions, commitments, and assigned actions are monitored through completion.
• Present project performance, financial forecasts, significant risks, and strategic recommendations to senior management and clients.

Project Delivery and Performance Management

• Take overall responsibility for project scope, schedules, budgets, cash flow, quality objectives, risk exposure, and performance targets.
• Monitor delivery against approved project plans and ensure that project activities remain aligned with agreed milestones.
• Oversee project controls, including schedule monitoring, cost forecasting, earned value analysis where applicable, change management, and performance reporting.
• Review project risks and opportunities, ensuring that appropriate mitigation measures and corrective actions are developed and implemented.
• Direct the preparation and implementation of recovery plans when project performance deviates from established objectives.
• Maintain effective coordination between project disciplines, work packages, contractors, adjacent projects, and external stakeholders.
• Promote consistent reporting and transparent communication of project progress, challenges, and management decisions.

Engineering, Design, and Technical Oversight

• Provide strategic direction for multidisciplinary engineering and design delivery.
• Ensure that technical activities meet applicable engineering codes, standards, client requirements, and project specifications.
• Oversee coordination between engineering disciplines to maintain design consistency and resolve technical interfaces.
• Support constructability reviews, value engineering initiatives, and the timely resolution of critical design challenges.
• Monitor technical deliverables to ensure alignment with construction requirements, project schedules, and approved quality objectives.
• Coordinate technical decisions involving consultants, contractors, and relevant project stakeholders.

Procurement and Construction Management

• Oversee procurement and construction activities to ensure alignment with approved designs, schedules, budgets, logistics plans, and quality requirements.
• Coordinate major project delivery interfaces involving procurement teams, contractors, consultants, and construction management personnel.
• Monitor construction progress and address significant issues affecting safety, quality, cost, or delivery milestones.
• Ensure that construction activities remain coordinated with commissioning and handover requirements.
• Provide strategic oversight of multiple contract packages and associated project interfaces.
• Support effective planning and coordination of resources required for project execution.

Commercial and Contractual Management

• Provide senior commercial and contractual leadership throughout the project lifecycle.
• Oversee contract administration activities in coordination with commercial and contracts management teams.
• Review and manage significant contractual matters, including variations, claims, notices, change orders, payment issues, and formal correspondence.
• Monitor project financial performance, cash flow, cost forecasts, and commercial exposure.
• Ensure that contractual obligations and change control procedures are appropriately managed.
• Support the resolution of complex commercial and contractual issues affecting project delivery.
• Maintain awareness of commercial risks and ensure that significant matters are escalated and addressed appropriately.

Client and Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary senior point of contact for project delivery matters involving clients and key stakeholders.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships with clients, consultants, contractors, regulatory authorities, and other project participants.
• Lead executive‑level technical, commercial, progress, risk, and stakeholder meetings.
• Facilitate timely decisions and ensure that agreed actions and commitments are tracked through closure.
• Coordinate stakeholder interfaces and address issues that may affect project execution.
• Communicate project priorities, performance expectations, and strategic decisions across the project organization.
• Represent project delivery interests in discussions with senior client representatives and other key stakeholders.

Health, Safety, Environment, Quality, and Security

• Promote a strong health, safety, environment, quality, and security culture throughout project execution.
• Ensure compliance with applicable company policies, client requirements, statutory obligations, and project procedures.
• Provide leadership oversight of project safety and quality performance.
• Support the identification and management of significant safety, environmental, quality, and security risks.
• Ensure that relevant project functions maintain appropriate controls and compliance measures.

Project Resources and Team Leadership

• Establish project resource requirements and approve staffing plans in line with delivery needs.
• Support recruitment, personnel mobilization, and the maintenance of appropriate technical and leadership capabilities.
• Lead and mentor project management and discipline leadership personnel.
• Establish clear performance expectations and maintain accountability across the project organization.
• Encourage effective collaboration between engineering, commercial, construction, and project management teams.
• Support the professional development of project personnel and promote a results‑focused working environment.
• Ensure that project teams have the leadership and technical resources required throughout the project lifecycle.

Digital Project Delivery and Information Management

• Promote the effective use of digital project delivery tools, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and integrated project management platforms.
• Encourage data‑driven reporting and information management practices to support project governance and decision‑making.
• Oversee the adoption of appropriate document control and digital collaboration processes.
• Support the integration of scheduling, cost management, reporting, and project controls information.
• Encourage consistent use of project information to improve coordination and management visibility.

Project Completion and Handover

• Oversee testing, commissioning, handover, and project closeout activities.
• Ensure that completion requirements are coordinated with contractual obligations and approved project procedures.
• Direct the resolution of outstanding project matters affecting final completion.
• Support the preparation and closure of final accounts in coordination with relevant commercial teams.
• Ensure that lessons learned are identified and documented to support future post- product development improvements.
• Maintain leadership oversight through the final stages of project completion and contractual closeout.
• Perform other responsibilities appropriate to the ProjectDirectorposition.

What Required Skills You 'LL Bring

• Bachelor 's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Project Management, or a related discipline from a recognized institution.
• More than 20 years of progressive professional experience delivering major infrastructure, building, mixed‑use, or large‑scale development projects.
• Significant experience in senior project leadership positions, with a proven track record as a Project Director, Senior Project Manager, or equivalent.
• Extensive knowledge of project management principles covering scope, schedules, budgets, risks, quality, procurement, contracts, construction, commissioning, and stakeholder management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large multidisciplinary project teams, consultants, contractors, and multiple work packages within complex delivery environments.
• Strong commercial and contractual understanding, including contract administration, change control, claims management, and cost forecasting.
• Experience establishing project governance structures, delivery strategies, performance management arrangements, and recovery plans.
• Proven ability to manage complex project interfaces and coordinate technical, commercial, and operational functions.
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, communication, presentation, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Ability to engage effectively with senior clients, executives, contractors, and other key stakeholders.
• Proficiency in project reporting and commonly used digital collaboration, document management, scheduling, and project controls platforms.
• Strong capability to assess project performance, identify significant risks, and implement appropriate management actions.

What Desired Skills You 'LL Bring

• Previous experience delivering major infrastructure or large‑scale development programs in Saudi Arabia or the wider Middle East.
• Experience working with government, semi‑government, giga‑project, or major developer clients.
• Knowledge of regional permitting requirements, authority approvals, stakeholder interfaces, and construction delivery practices.
• Working knowledge of BIM and digital project delivery platforms, including integrated project controls and reporting systems.
• Professional registration or certification such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Professional Engineer (PE), Chartered Engineer (CEng), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), or an equivalent internationally recognized credential.
• Experience managing complex procurement strategies, multiple contract packages, and high‑value programs involving diverse stakeholders.

Executive Project Leadership

The Project Director will be responsible for maintaining strategic oversight while ensuring that technical, commercial, and operational activities support the overall project objectives. Success in this position requires the ability to balance competing project priorities, maintain effective governance, and make informed decisions involving schedules, costs, contractual obligations, and delivery risks. The role also requires strong executive communication and stakeholder management capabilities, particularly when coordinating complex project interfaces and resolving matters that affect multiple delivery teams.

Commercial Performance and Risk Management

A significant part of the position involves maintaining control over project financial performance, contractual commitments, and delivery risks. The Project Director will work closely with commercial, contracts, and project controls teams to monitor financial forecasts, evaluate change requirements, address contractual and commercial issues and provide appropriate strategy. Effective coordination between technical and commercial functions will be essential to maintaining project performance.

Why Join Parsons

Parsons offers opportunities to lead complex multidisciplinary projects while collaborating with experienced engineering, construction, commercial, and project management professionals. The company emphasizes innovation, collaboration, professional development, and employee wellbeing. This position provides an opportunity to apply extensive project leadership experience while contributing to major infrastructure and development initiatives.

About Parsons

Parsons Corporation promotes a professional environment guided by its commitment to valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth. The company encourages multidisciplinary collaboration, technical excellence, and professional development while supporting equal employment opportunity across all job levels.

Parsons advises applicants to remain alert to fraudulent recruitment practices. Information about recruitment fraud and reporting procedures is available at https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/