Director Place (District Placemaking & Theming)

About the Role

Qiddiya is seeking a Director Place (District Placemaking & Theming) to lead the strategic direction and integration of placemaking and theming across assigned districts. This full-time role, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, involves translating city ambitions into distinctive identities, compelling experiences, and deliverable development outcomes. The Director will establish district place visions, maintain Qiddiya's creative authorship, and lead thematic development from early planning through design and delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead place vision, narrative, positioning, and thematic strategies across assigned districts, establishing clear priorities and experience objectives.
• Direct the development of internal thematic strategies, safeguarding Qiddiya's authorship while guiding consultant interpretation and design expression.
• Embed placemaking within Master Plans and asset designs, ensuring district identity informs spatial planning, asset relationships, public realm, and development decisions.
• Lead the translation of approved strategies into designs, Place Books, experience frameworks, and actionable design guidance.
• Direct integration across planning, architecture, landscape, public realm, arts, culture, and infrastructure interfaces.
• Act as the senior place representative for assigned districts, engaging executive stakeholders and development leaders on strategic direction, priorities, and key decisions.
• Build alignment across district teams, asset owners, and corporate functions, resolving competing requirements and escalating material risks with clear recommendations.
• Lead placemaking contributions to the City Framework Plan, aligning district strategies with citywide ambition.
• Direct experience planning, activation, and meanwhile-use strategies with relevant teams, connecting physical design with programming, marketing, and operations.
• Lead place-related scopes, consultant appointments, and procurement inputs, defining deliverables, responsibilities, and quality expectations.
• Manage assigned budgets, resources, and forecasts, recommending proportionate in-house and consultant delivery models.

Planning and Design Integration

The Director will establish design review priorities and guide the resolution of issues affecting place quality, thematic integrity, and continuity. This includes maintaining strategic oversight through design development and early delivery, ensuring changes are assessed against approved place objectives.

Stakeholder Leadership and Governance

This role involves establishing governance, review milestones, and decision pathways for place and theming within agreed approval structures. The Director will present district strategies, investment priorities, and delivery implications to leadership, securing alignment on intended outcomes.

Qualifications and Requirements

• 18-20 years of relevant professional experience in placemaking, thematic development, urban design, or master planning, including substantial senior leadership responsibility.
• Degree in urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, planning, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated leadership of complex mixed-use, cultural, entertainment, or destination districts from strategic vision through design and delivery.
• Proven ability to engage executive stakeholders, lead multidisciplinary teams, and translate creative ambition into commercially and operationally viable outcomes.
• Strong expertise in district identity, thematic frameworks, public realm, experience planning, governance, procurement, and budget management.
• Excellent strategic judgment, negotiation, and executive communication skills, with sensitivity to the Saudi cultural context.

Work Environment

This full-time position is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role requires leading multidisciplinary teams and consultants, fostering internal capability, and promoting a culture of creative ownership, collaboration, and delivery accountability.