The Role

The infrastructure investor is hiring a Design Director for Estate Management, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The position sits within a City Assets Management function and is focused on operational design review and assurance across city and district assets. The Director represents the future operator, maintainer, and asset owner throughout planning, design development, design reviews, and asset delivery. The role holds design authority for operability and maintainability, providing independent review, challenge, assurance, and recommendations across assets that will require future operations, maintenance, management, or service delivery.

The position works closely with Development, Delivery, City Operations, Community Management, Asset Management, Utilities, Mobility, Security, Digital, and other operational stakeholders. It also coordinates operational aspects of asset handover with City Asset Management.

Key Responsibilities

Asset Operability and Maintainability Reviews

• Lead operational design reviews of city and district assets to assess operability, maintainability, functionality, and long-term serviceability.
• Review asset designs at planning, concept, schematic, detailed design, and pre-handover stages.
• Challenge design proposals to ensure assets can be safely, efficiently, and sustainably operated and maintained.
• Assess asset layouts, operational functionality, maintenance strategies, and service delivery requirements.
• Identify operational risks, maintenance constraints, accessibility challenges, and service delivery issues that may affect future operations.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to improve asset operability, maintainability, and operational performance.
• Support governance and stage-gate reviews through technical review comments and assurance recommendations.
• Promote whole-life thinking within design reviews to support long-term operational sustainability.

Operational Design Standards and Requirements

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve operational design standards, guidance documents, and review criteria.
• Define operability, maintainability, and service delivery requirements for use by development and design teams.
• Develop operational requirements relating to maintenance access, serviceability, support facilities, and operational infrastructure.
• Establish design review frameworks and assurance processes to support consistent assessment of developments.
• Ensure operational design requirements are embedded within development processes and governance frameworks.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to maintain current and future operational requirements across asset classes.
• Provide subject matter expertise relating to operational readiness and operational design assurance.

City Asset Facilities Planning

• Review and provide assurance on the sizing, location, and functionality of facilities required to support city operations and asset management activities.
• Assess operational support facilities including maintenance compounds, workshops, storage areas, waste facilities, logistics areas, and staff support infrastructure.
• Evaluate proposed facility capacities against forecast operational requirements and service delivery needs.
• Review space planning requirements associated with operational support activities and future city growth.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to validate operational assumptions and facility utilization requirements.
• Ensure asset support facilities align with long-term operating models and maintenance requirements.

Operational Logistics and Accessibility Planning

• Review and provide assurance on operational logistics requirements associated with city and district assets.
• Assess asset access arrangements, servicing routes, loading facilities, deliveries, refuse collection arrangements, and maintenance access requirements.
• Review emergency access provisions and operational resilience considerations.
• Ensure operational logistics requirements are appropriately integrated into development and design proposals.
• Identify operational conflicts and provide recommendations to improve functionality and service delivery performance.

District Design Support and Stakeholder Coordination

• Provide operational design subject matter expertise to district development teams throughout planning and design activities.
• Participate in workshops, technical working groups, design reviews, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Coordinate operational stakeholder inputs to ensure consistent and integrated review outcomes.
• Facilitate alignment between Development, Delivery, Asset Management, City Operations, Community Management, and specialist operational functions.
• Support resolution of design issues through structured review, analysis, and stakeholder engagement.

Consultant and Technical Advisor Management

• Define scopes, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and performance requirements for consultants supporting operational design review and assurance activities.
• Manage consultant activities relating to operability, maintainability, facilities planning, logistics planning, and operational readiness.
• Review consultant reports, technical studies, assessments, and recommendations.
• Ensure consultant outputs align with Estate Management objectives and operational requirements.
• Escalate significant issues, risks, and recommendations to senior management where appropriate.

Design Governance, Assurance, and Asset Handover Coordination

• Support design governance processes through operational design assurance, review comments, and technical recommendations.
• Participate in stage-gate reviews and governance forums relating to city and district developments.
• Maintain records of design review findings, risks, actions, and assurance outcomes.
• Monitor closure of operational design review comments and stakeholder actions.
• Coordinate operational aspects of asset handover planning with the City Asset Management team.
• Facilitate alignment between design teams, delivery teams, and future asset owners during handover activities.

Continuous Improvement and Reporting

• Capture lessons learned from developments, asset handovers, and operational experience.
• Coordinate benchmarking activities with specialist consultants to identify leading industry practices.
• Monitor design trends, emerging technologies, and innovative approaches relevant to asset operations and maintenance.
• Develop leadership reporting, dashboards, and management information relating to operational design assurance activities.
• Support capability development across Estate Management through guidance, coaching, and stakeholder engagement.

Skills & Experience

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Facilities Management, Asset Management, Urban Planning, Building Sciences, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
• Master's degree in a relevant discipline is desirable.
• Chartered, licensed, or professionally accredited status with a recognized professional institution is preferred.
• Additional qualifications in facilities management, asset management, operational readiness, or infrastructure planning are advantageous.

Experience

• Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in design management, operational readiness, facilities planning, asset management, infrastructure delivery, estate management, or related disciplines, including leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing complex developments from an operational, maintainability, and service delivery perspective.
• Experience influencing design outcomes across multidisciplinary projects and stakeholder groups.
• Experience developing operational requirements, design standards, and assurance processes.
• Experience supporting design governance and stage-gate review processes.
• Experience coordinating development, operations, asset management, and delivery stakeholders.
• Experience managing consultants, technical advisors, and specialist studies.
• Experience within major mixed-use destinations, large-scale developments, infrastructure programs, master-planned communities, cities, or giga-projects is strongly preferred.

Technical Competencies

• Operability and maintainability reviews.
• Operational design assurance.
• Design governance and stage-gate processes.
• Facilities planning and operational infrastructure assessment.
• Operational logistics and accessibility planning.
• Asset handover coordination.
• Stakeholder engagement and cross-functional integration.
• Consultant management and technical assurance.
• Operational readiness planning.
• Whole-life asset performance considerations.

About MENA Careers

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