Senior Project Manager - Entertainment Programs

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 446,000 - 614,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is hiring a Senior Project Manager to lead entertainment districts and related infrastructure in Riyadh. You will integrate multiple workstreams, manage schedule and cost, and coordinate with contractors and regulators to deliver safe, high-quality developments.

The role requires a minimum 15 years of large-scale project delivery, including senior program management responsibility, with experience in entertainment, transportation, utilities, and mixed-use developments.

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience delivering major infrastructure and development projects.
• Experience in senior project or program management positions.
• Direct experience with entertainment districts, theme parks, or major mixed-use developments.
• Strong exposure to transportation, utilities, or residential interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, governance, execution, and delivery of major development projects from concept through construction and handover.
• Develop program execution strategies, delivery roadmaps, and management frameworks.
• Establish measurable performance objectives across scope, schedule, cost, quality, safety, risk, and readiness.
• Coordinate multiple projects, packages, and contractors within a large master development.
• Monitor progress, identify schedule threats, and drive recovery actions where needed.
• Oversee budgeting, cost management, and procurement strategies across packages.
• Ensure regulatory compliance, safety and environmental standards, and stakeholder approvals.

Skills

Senior Project Management

Program / Project Management

Entertainment Development

Theme Park Development

Leisure Destinations

Mixed-Use Development

Infrastructure Delivery

Transportation Coordination

Utility Coordination

Residential Development

Project Controls

Cost Management

Budget Management

Risk Management

HSE Management

Quality Management

Environmental Management

Stakeholder Management

Procurement Strategy

Change Management

Contract Administration

Dispute Avoidance

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Architecture, or related

Job description

Senior Project Manager - Entertainment Programs Job Snapshot Role: Senior Project Manager - Entertainment Programs Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Industry: Construction Function: Program / Project Management Experience: Minimum 15 years of relevant large-scale project delivery experience, including senior project or program management responsibility Job Type: Full-time Position Overview Senior Project Manager - Entertainment Programs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a Construction opportunity focused on leading complex entertainment districts, mixed-use destinations, transportation, utilities, infrastructure, and community development packages from concept through operational readiness. Parsons is hiring an experienced senior project leader to integrate multiple concurrent workstreams, control schedule and cost performance, manage contractors and stakeholders, and ensure major developments achieve safety, quality, commercial, and delivery objectives.

Country: Saudi Arabia City: Riyadh Industry: Construction Function: Program / Project Management Salary: 40000-55000 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 Senior Project Manager will provide leadership across a portfolio of interconnected development packages where entertainment destinations must integrate successfully with roads, transportation systems, utilities, residential communities, public infrastructure, and future operations. The role will convert strategic development objectives into coordinated execution plans while maintaining control of technical interfaces, budgets, schedules, risks, procurement, construction performance, stakeholder approvals, commissioning, and handover.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead planning, governance, execution, and delivery of major development projects from concept through construction, commissioning, handover, and operational readiness.
• Develop program execution strategies, implementation plans, delivery roadmaps, and management frameworks.
• Establish measurable performance objectives covering scope, schedule, cost, quality, safety, risk, and operational readiness.
• Maintain alignment between assigned projects and broader program and organizational objectives.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects, packages, contractors, and technical workstreams within a wider development portfolio.
• Prioritize project resources and resolve dependencies between entertainment, infrastructure, transportation, residential, and utility packages.
• Coordinate interfaces between major entertainment destinations and surrounding civil and community infrastructure.
• Maintain integrated delivery across transport corridors, utilities, public access, residential areas, and operational assets.
• Develop and control master schedules, phasing strategies, key milestones, and critical delivery dates.
• Coordinate with Planning and Project Controls teams to monitor progress and identify schedule threats.
• Review project performance trends and initiate recovery or mitigation actions where required.
• Ensure important dependencies are reflected accurately in project and program schedules.
• Oversee project budgeting and cost management.
• Review estimates, forecasts, expenditure, contingencies, and emerging cost pressures.
• Support value engineering initiatives that improve value without compromising operational requirements or guest experience.
• Maintain visibility of approved budgets, forecast completion costs, and significant financial risks.
• Establish robust risk and issue management processes.
• Lead identification, quantification, mitigation, monitoring, and escalation of project risks.
• Develop contingency strategies for high-impact technical, commercial, stakeholder, and delivery risks.
• Ensure risk responses have clear ownership and realistic completion dates.
• Coordinate architects, engineers, design consultants, and specialist technical teams.
• Ensure design solutions satisfy project functionality, entertainment operations, infrastructure interfaces, regulatory requirements, and constructability.
• Review and approve significant technical deliverables within delegated authority.
• Lead multidisciplinary design reviews and resolve interfaces affecting multiple packages.
• Monitor design development against procurement and construction requirements.
• Support alternative analyses where technical or commercial options require senior evaluation.
• Ensure project components comply with relevant Saudi regulations, authority requirements, codes, and standards.
• Coordinate approvals with regulators, municipalities, utilities, and other public-sector stakeholders.
• Lead construction delivery planning across entertainment districts, infrastructure, transportation corridors, residential areas, and utilities.
• Establish site-wide coordination strategies where several contractors are operating simultaneously.
• Oversee construction sequencing and package interfaces.
• Monitor contractor productivity, resources, progress, and delivery performance.
• Require corrective or recovery plans where contractors fail to achieve agreed performance.
• Identify construction constraints before they affect critical milestones.
• Maintain strong coordination between design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational teams.
• Champion HSE performance and ensure project-specific safety requirements are consistently implemented.
• Promote strong quality management across contractors and consultants.
• Ensure environmental requirements are incorporated into planning and construction activities.
• Monitor recurring safety, quality, or environmental issues and require effective corrective action.
• Manage relationships with government entities, regulators, municipalities, operators, and other major stakeholders.
• Coordinate stakeholder approvals and decisions needed to maintain project progress.
• Establish effective communication channels for parties affected by construction or future operations.
• Resolve conflicting stakeholder requirements through structured negotiation and decision-making.
• Prepare executive reports, dashboards, briefings, presentations, and decision papers.
• Communicate project status, key milestones, financial position, major risks, and required decisions to senior leadership.
• Provide early warning of issues with potential program-level consequences.
• Support procurement strategies for consultants, contractors, suppliers, and specialist entertainment vendors.
• Assist with development of scopes of work and tender documentation.
• Participate in tender evaluations and award recommendations.
• Ensure procurement sequencing supports the overall project program.
• Oversee contract administration in coordination with Commercial and Contracts teams.
• Manage change control and maintain visibility of variations and their cost or schedule impacts.
• Support assessment of contractor claims and contractual entitlement.
• Promote dispute avoidance through accurate records, early intervention, and timely decisions.
• Escalate significant contractual risks requiring senior management action.
• Plan and manage commissioning, testing, readiness, and handover requirements.
• Coordinate entertainment district readiness with operators and end users.
• Ensure operational requirements are embedded early in design and construction planning.
• Incorporate maintenance, event operations, security, asset management, and visitor experience requirements into delivery decisions.
• Monitor preparation of operating procedures, training, and asset information.
• Ensure as-built drawings, O and M manuals, warranties, certificates, and final project records are completed before handover.
• Coordinate training and knowledge transfer for operators and asset management personnel.
• Track snagging, commissioning deficiencies, and closeout actions to completion.
• Lead multidisciplinary consultants, contractors, project managers, engineers, and support teams.
• Set clear roles, responsibilities, expectations, and performance standards.
• Mentor project personnel and strengthen delivery capability across the team.
• Build a collaborative culture focused on accountability, integrity, safety, and timely problem-solving.
• Capture lessons learned and use them to improve subsequent development packages.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Architecture, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience delivering major infrastructure and development projects.
• Several years of responsibility in senior project or program management positions.
• Proven track record managing complex, high-value projects or portfolios.
• Direct experience with entertainment districts, theme parks, leisure destinations, or major mixed-use lifestyle developments.
• Strong exposure to transportation, highways, utilities, infrastructure, or residential community interfaces.
• Experience coordinating multiple projects and contractors within large master developments.
• Demonstrated experience working with public-sector entities, government authorities, regulators, or municipalities.
• Strong understanding of project management methodologies and recognized delivery frameworks.
• Familiarity with PMI, PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent project management practices.
• Strong understanding of design management, construction processes, procurement, commissioning, and handover.
• Practical knowledge of project controls, master scheduling, phasing, cost forecasting, and risk management.
• Strong commercial awareness covering contracts, variations, claims, and change control.
• Proven ability to manage major multidisciplinary project interfaces.
• Experience evaluating technical deliverables and design solutions from a project delivery perspective.
• Strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
• Ability to present complex project information clearly to senior executives and external stakeholders.
• Experience in Saudi Arabia or the wider GCC is required or strongly preferred.
• Master 's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Business Administration, or a related field would add value.
• PMP, RICS, APM, PRINCE2, or equivalent professional certification is advantageous.
• Strong leadership and mentoring capability.
• Excellent analytical and decision-making skills.
• Ability to operate effectively across fast-moving, high-profile development environments.

Skills Set

• Senior Project Management
• Program / Project Management
• Entertainment Development
• Theme Park Development
• Leisure Destinations
• Mixed-Use Development
• Infrastructure Delivery
• Transportation Coordination
• Utility Coordination
• Residential Development
• Program Governance
• Project Execution Strategy
• Implementation Planning
• Master Scheduling
• Phasing Planning
• Milestone Management
• Project Controls
• Cost Management
• Budget Management
• Cost Forecasting
• Value Engineering
• Risk Management
• Issue Management
• Contingency Planning
• Design Management
• Design Coordination
• Technical Review
• Constructability Review
• Interface Management
• Contractor Management
• Construction Management
• Construction Sequencing
• Site Coordination
• Progress Monitoring
• Productivity Management
• HSE Management
• Quality Management
• Environmental Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Government Coordination
• Authority Coordination
• Municipal Coordination
• Operator Coordination
• Procurement Strategy
• Tender Management
• Contract Administration
• Change Management
• Variation Management
• Claims Evaluation
• Dispute Avoidance
• Testing and Commissioning
• Operational Readiness
• Entertainment Operations Readiness
• Asset Management Coordination
• Project Handover
• As-Built Documentation
• O and M Documentation
• Executive Reporting
• Decision Papers
• Team Leadership
• Performance Management
• Continuous Improvement

Why Join Us

This role offers senior responsibility across entertainment-led development programs where successful delivery depends on close integration between destination assets, infrastructure, mobility, utilities, communities, and future operators. Saudi Arabia 's continuing investment in entertainment and lifestyle destinations creates strong demand for project leaders who can manage technically complex programs while maintaining control of schedule, cost, commercial risk, construction performance, and operational readiness. The position also provides a strong platform for progression toward program director and executive delivery leadership.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, infrastructure, construction management, program management, and technology solutions for complex developments worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, Parsons supports major entertainment, transportation, urban development, infrastructure, and utility programs through multidisciplinary project leadership, technical management, construction delivery, and operational readiness expertise.