Senior Manager - Customer Experience Design and Innovation (CDU3) - 20005766

Qiddiya Investment Company; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 300,000 - 400,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading investment firm in Saudi Arabia is seeking a Senior Manager for Customer Experience and Innovation. This role emphasizes user-centered design in public transport projects, managing innovation, and ensuring seamless service delivery. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of experience in customer experience strategy, particularly in the GCC. Responsibilities include engaging stakeholders and embedding innovations across project lifecycles.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in customer experience strategy and innovation.
• Experience ideally within the GCC region.
• Strong background in transport planning or service operations.

Responsibilities

• Define the end-to-end passenger journey vision.
• Lead the integration of new technologies into projects.
• Collaborate with teams across the project lifecycle.
• Engage stakeholders to balance technical feasibility with expectations.
• Align initiatives with best practices and benchmarks.
• Design metrics for continuous improvement.

Skills

User-centered design

Stakeholder engagement

Innovation programs management

Digital transformation

Sustainability

Transport planning

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree in service design, Innovation Management, or Transport Planning

Job description

Overview

The Senior Manager, Customer Experience and Innovation is responsible for ensuring that customer needs and expectations are at the heart of public transport infrastructure projects across their full lifecycle — from design and construction through to operations.

This role will lead design thinking across transport projects and the integration of service design principles into complex transport initiatives to deliver seamless, accessible, and future-ready mobility solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Experience Design: Define the end-to-end passenger journey vision and ensure that infrastructure, services, and digital systems are designed to optimize usability, inclusivity, safety, and satisfaction. Develop customer requirements and embed them into project briefs, contracts, and operational standards.
• Innovation Strategy: Define the use of new technologies, smart mobility solutions, and innovative practices (e.g., MaaS platforms, real-time data, contactless ticketing, AI-enabled analytics, and sustainable design) that enhance service quality and operational efficiency.
• Integration Across Project Lifecycle: Collaborate with design, engineering, construction, and operations teams to embed customer and innovation outcomes throughout planning, design reviews, build phases, and readiness for service. Ensure customer experience KPIs are tracked and delivered through commissioning and steady-state operations.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the voice of the customer, engaging with a range of stakeholders to balance technical feasibility with passenger expectations. Ensure transparent communication and co-design where appropriate.
• Standards, Compliance & Benchmarking: Align customer experience and innovation initiatives with international best practices (e.g., ISO service quality standards, universal design guidelines, and sustainability frameworks). Benchmark performance against global leaders in public transport.
• Performance & Continuous Improvement: Design measurable CX and innovation metrics such as Customer Satisfaction Index, service reliability, accessibility, and digital adoption. Drive continuous improvement cycles to adapt to evolving customer needs and emerging technologies.

Required Skills & Attributes

• Strong background in transport planning, infrastructure delivery, or service operations with a focus on user-centered design.
• Deep understanding of customer experience frameworks, transport modelling, and behaviour change levers.
• Proven ability to lead innovation programs and manage cross-disciplinary teams.
• Skilled in stakeholder engagement and negotiation across public, private, and community sectors.
• Future-focused mindset with expertise in digital transformation, sustainability, and smart cities

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree in service design, Innovation Management, Transport Planning, or similar preferred

Years of Experience

10+ years of experience in customer experience strategy and innovation, ideally within the GCC.