Sustainability Lead - Airport Infrastructure

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation invites a senior Sustainability Lead to guide environmental performance for a major Riyadh airport infrastructure program. The role delivers carbon reduction, energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste management across planning, design, construction, and operations to achieve certified sustainability outcomes.

The ideal candidate combines strategic leadership with technical review, stakeholder coordination, and performance measurement to drive practical, verifiable

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years of professional experience in sustainability management, environmental engineering, or sustainable infrastructure delivery.
• Experience in airport developments, aviation infrastructure, transportation programs, or major infrastructure projects.
• Strong understanding of carbon management, energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, waste management, sustainable materials, and climate resilience.
• Ability to coordinate sustainability requirements across consultants, contractors, engineering disciplines, and specialist advisors.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the project sustainability strategy and supporting management framework.
• Establish measurable sustainability objectives, targets, KPIs, reporting processes, and governance requirements.
• Advise project leadership, designers, contractors, consultants, and specialist teams on sustainability priorities.
• Integrate sustainability requirements into planning, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational readiness activities.
• Monitor performance against environmental commitments and identify corrective actions.
• Lead sustainability certification activities (LEED, BREEAM, Envision, Estidama or equivalent).
• Review energy models, carbon studies, and sustainability calculations to optimize lifecycle performance.
• Coordinate with Architecture, Civil, MEP, Utilities, Airfield, BIM, and digital engineering teams.

Skills

Sustainability strategy

Environmental management

Carbon management

Energy efficiency

Water conservation

Waste management

Lifecycle assessment

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering / Sustainability / Civil Engineering / Architecture / Building Services Engineering

Master's degree in Sustainability / Environmental Management

Tools

LEED AP

BREEAM Assessor

Envision

Estidama

WELL Accredited Professional

Job description

Sustainability Lead - Airport Infrastructure

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Industry: Aviation and Aerospace

Function: Environmental Protection-Conservation

Experience: Minimum 15 years

Job Type: Full-time

Position Overview

Sustainability Lead - Airport Infrastructure in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a senior Aviation and Aerospace opportunity focused on embedding environmental performance, carbon reduction, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and sustainable development principles across a major airport and airfield program. Parsons Corporation is hiring an experienced sustainability professional to guide strategy, certification, design integration, construction compliance, performance measurement, and stakeholder coordination across terminals, runways, utilities, airfield infrastructure, and operational facilities.

Job Details

Country: Saudi Arabia

City: Riyadh

Industry: Aviation and Aerospace

Function: Environmental Protection-Conservation

Salary: 35000-50000 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 Sustainability Lead will shape how environmental and resource‑efficiency objectives are translated into measurable actions throughout planning, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and eventual airport operations. The position combines strategic sustainability leadership with technical review and performance monitoring across a highly complex infrastructure environment. Working across architectural, engineering, utility, airfield, construction, and digital disciplines, the role will identify opportunities to reduce lifecycle carbon, improve energy and water performance, minimize waste, strengthen climate resilience, and support recognized sustainability certifications. Effective leadership will help ensure that environmental commitments remain practical, traceable, and integrated into project delivery rather than treated as isolated targets.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the project sustainability strategy and supporting management framework.
• Establish measurable sustainability objectives, targets, KPIs, reporting processes, and governance requirements.
• Advise project leadership, designers, contractors, consultants, and specialist teams on sustainability priorities.
• Integrate sustainability requirements into planning, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational readiness activities.
• Monitor performance against agreed environmental commitments and identify areas requiring corrective action.
• Guide sustainability implementation across passenger terminals, concourses, cargo facilities, runways, taxiways, aprons, aircraft stands, roads, utilities, and airport support facilities.
• Review engineering and architectural strategies for energy efficiency, carbon reduction, water conservation, waste reduction, sustainable materials, and climate resilience.
• Coordinate sustainability requirements with Architecture, Civil, MEP, Utilities, Airfield, BIM, and digital engineering teams.
• Participate in multidisciplinary design reviews and identify practical opportunities to improve environmental performance.
• Lead or coordinate sustainability certification activities involving LEED, BREEAM, Envision, Estidama, or equivalent frameworks.
• Review certification calculations, evidence, submissions, design documentation, and compliance records.
• Track sustainability credits, outstanding actions, gaps, and opportunities for improved project ratings.
• Coordinate with designers and contractors to ensure targeted certification requirements are incorporated into deliverables.
• Develop and monitor carbon management strategies covering embodied and operational emissions.
• Support preparation of carbon inventories, emissions baselines, reduction pathways, and performance tracking.
• Promote energy-efficient building systems, renewable energy solutions, low-carbon materials, and efficient construction methods.
• Review energy modelling studies and assess opportunities to reduce operational energy demand.
• Evaluate renewable energy integration where technically and operationally appropriate.
• Support development of net-zero and carbon-reduction initiatives while maintaining airport reliability and operational resilience.
• Lead sustainability input related to water conservation, wastewater reuse, rainwater management, irrigation efficiency, and sustainable drainage.
• Coordinate with utilities teams to optimize resource consumption and infrastructure efficiency.
• Review proposals for sustainable water systems suitable for large airport environments.
• Support sustainable procurement by encouraging responsible material selection, lifecycle assessment, and reduced environmental impact.
• Review contractor sustainability plans, environmental management plans, waste strategies, and construction performance reports.
• Monitor implementation of waste diversion, material efficiency, pollution prevention, and resource conservation measures.
• Conduct sustainability audits and site inspections to verify compliance with project requirements.
• Track environmental performance indicators during construction and highlight emerging risks.
• Participate in value engineering workshops to identify solutions that improve lifecycle performance while remaining technically and commercially practical.
• Assess sustainability implications of design changes and major construction decisions.
• Coordinate with the client, airport authorities, government bodies, environmental agencies, consultants, contractors, and specialist advisors.
• Support environmental approvals, technical submissions, certification reviews, and regulatory compliance processes.
• Lead sustainability workshops, stakeholder reviews, and performance meetings.
• Prepare sustainability dashboards, progress reports, technical assessments, and recommendations for project leadership.
• Monitor carbon, energy, water, waste, certification, and environmental performance targets.
• Identify underperforming areas and establish recovery or improvement measures with responsible teams.
• Maintain structured records of sustainability decisions, evidence, calculations, approvals, and performance data.
• Support preparation of final sustainability reports, certification documentation, project closeout records, and asset handover information.

Ideal Profile

This position is suited to a senior sustainability professional who can translate ambitious environmental objectives into practical requirements for complex airport and infrastructure delivery.

• Bachelor 's degree in Environmental Engineering, Sustainability, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Building Services Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of professional experience in sustainability management, environmental engineering, or sustainable infrastructure delivery.
• Master 's degree in Sustainability, Environmental Management, or a related field is preferred.
• Proven involvement in airport developments, aviation infrastructure, transportation programs, or major infrastructure projects.
• Extensive experience implementing sustainability strategies across design, construction, and operational planning stages.
• Strong understanding of carbon management, energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, waste management, sustainable materials, and climate resilience.
• Experience working in Delivery Partner, PMC, EPC, Design-Build, or client-side project environments.
• Ability to coordinate sustainability requirements across consultants, contractors, engineering disciplines, and specialist advisors.
• Practical experience with LEED, BREEAM, Envision, Estidama, or comparable rating systems.
• Strong capability in sustainability reporting, performance measurement, compliance documentation, and certification evidence management.
• Understanding of airport environmental requirements and the operational constraints associated with aviation infrastructure.
• Ability to review energy models, environmental assessments, carbon studies, and sustainability calculations.
• Strong analytical skills for evaluating lifecycle performance and sustainability trade‑offs.
• Excellent leadership, presentation, communication, and stakeholder management capability.
• LEED AP, BREEAM Assessor, Envision Sustainability Professional, WELL Accredited Professional, or comparable certification is advantageous.
• Experience delivering sustainability programs for international airport mega-projects is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of ICAO environmental guidance and aviation sustainability requirements is beneficial.
• Experience with carbon‑neutral airport initiatives and net‑zero strategies is preferred.
• Familiarity with FIDIC or similar international contract frameworks is advantageous.

Skills Set

• Sustainability strategy
• Environmental management
• Sustainable infrastructure
• Airport sustainability
• Carbon management
• Carbon inventories
• Carbon reduction
• Net-zero planning
• Energy efficiency
• Energy modelling
• Renewable energy integration
• Operational energy performance
• Embodied carbon
• Low-carbon materials
• Sustainable procurement
• Water conservation
• Wastewater reuse
• Rainwater management
• Sustainable drainage systems
• Irrigation efficiency
• Waste management
• Waste diversion
• Climate resilience
• Environmental performance
• Lifecycle assessment
• Green building certification
• LEED
• BREEAM
• Envision
• Estidama
• WELL
• Sustainability KPIs
• Sustainability reporting
• Environmental compliance
• Sustainability audits
• Construction sustainability
• Environmental management plans
• Resource efficiency
• Sustainable materials
• Value engineering
• Design sustainability review
• Multidisciplinary coordination
• Stakeholder engagement
• Airport environmental requirements
• ICAO environmental guidance
• Sustainability documentation
• Certification management
• Performance dashboards
• Project closeout sustainability

Why Join Us

This position offers the opportunity to influence sustainability decisions across a major airport development where environmental performance, resource efficiency, resilience, and long-term operating costs are integral to successful infrastructure delivery. The scale of the program provides exposure to both buildings and extensive airfield infrastructure, allowing sustainability strategies to shape a wide range of technical systems and construction activities. For an experienced sustainability leader, the role offers a valuable platform to strengthen expertise in aviation infrastructure, carbon management, green building certification, and large-scale sustainable development. The continuing investment in Riyadh 's aviation and infrastructure sectors also creates strong long-term demand for professionals capable of delivering measurable environmental performance on complex projects.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, infrastructure, aviation, construction management, and technology solutions for major development programs worldwide. Its multidisciplinary teams integrate sustainability, technical engineering, digital delivery, and project management practices to support resilient transportation, airport, urban development, and infrastructure assets throughout their lifecycle.