Senior Director - Urban Design

Location: Riyadh, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia

Department: Qiddiya Master Development

Workplace: on_site

Employment Type: full

Description

Qiddiya Investment Company is a Saudi developer and investment holding company leading the creation of large-scale entertainment, sports, and cultural destinations, including Qiddiya City. This is an opportunity to contribute to a landmark development portfolio where planning, design excellence, and long-term strategic vision come together to shape high-impact places at scale.

As Senior Director - Urban Design, you will play a central leadership role in advancing planning and design strategy across a complex portfolio of projects. You will help guide how design standards, governance, and delivery practices are applied across developments, working closely with internal teams and external consultants to support quality, consistency, and commercial viability. This role is well suited to a design leader who brings deep urban design expertise and can balance strategic thinking with hands-on oversight across multiple project stages.

Responsibilities

• Support the senior technical development of the planning and design strategy to achieve QIC’s strategic objectives.
• Participate in developing and enforcing design policies, processes, procedures, and controls.
• Assist in developing the Place, Planning and Design budget in alignment with organizational budget requirements.
• Lead the development and implementation of design guidelines across QIC’s development portfolio projects.
• Support development teams across all aspects of project design and construction, including design direction, review, and internal specification processes.
• Oversee design process coordination among multiple consultants from pre-concept through execution to ensure alignment with Qiddiya’s master plan.
• Assist development teams with organizing, tracking, and monitoring multiple project design packages to deliver consistent and efficient solutions.
• Ensure design solutions are commercially viable and compliant with applicable rules and regulations.
• Manage design processes from land acquisition through planning and detailed design approvals to meet agreed plans and targets.
• Ensure all QIC projects align with the approved master plan and take corrective action when needed.
• Drive team performance by setting objectives, managing performance, and developing team capability.
• Provide leadership, mentoring, coaching, and growth opportunities to motivate and strengthen the team.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture, urban design, or a related discipline.
• 15+ years of experience in urban design, planning, or large-scale development.
• Experience with master-planned communities and mixed-use or destination developments.
• Hands-on experience with Revit.
• Proven experience leading external design consultants.
• Professional proficiency in English.