Director Cost Planning

Director, Cost Planning - General Business Unit

Qiddiya Investment Company is seeking a Director - Cost Planning for its General Business Unit in Riyadh Province. This full-time role involves leading cost planning for major General, commercial, and mixed-use developments, ensuring the Qiddiya cost position is maintained across a portfolio of complex projects. The Director will guide strategic design-to-budget decisions and support executive and Stage Gate approvals, integrating cost planning into business and project decision-making.

Role Purpose and Context

The primary purpose of this role is to lead cost planning activities for the General Business Unit across assigned portfolios, programs, and major projects. This includes ensuring consistent application of the Qiddiya Cost Planning Technical Guidelines, effective leadership of cost consultants, robust cost governance, and providing high-quality strategic cost advice to support project, business, procurement, and Stage Gate decision-making. The role directs, reviews, and challenges the work of external cost consultants and internal project teams, and may manage Qiddiya cost planning resources.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead cost planning activities for major General Business Unit projects and portfolios, aligning with approved budgets, strategic objectives, and risk assessments.
• Direct the appointment, mobilization, governance, and performance management of executive and project cost consultants.
• Provide leadership, oversight, and line management for Qiddiya cost planning resources assigned to the General Business Unit.
• Establish requirements for consultant deliverables, methodologies, reporting standards, and cost planning assumptions.
• Review, validate, and challenge consultant cost plans, reconciliations, benchmarks, and design-to-budget recommendations.
• Provide senior cost planning assurance for Stage Gate submissions, investment decisions, and procurement strategies.
• Maintain a current, defensible, and evidence-based cost position across assigned projects and portfolios.
• Lead strategic design-to-budget decision-making by identifying major cost drivers and advising on cost implications.
• Provide early-stage and portfolio-level cost advice using approved benchmarks and market intelligence.
• Collaborate with development, design, commercial, finance, procurement, and project management stakeholders.
• Apply cost planning software, benchmark data, and quantity-based review methods to interrogate consultant outputs.
• Represent the General Business Unit in cost planning, governance, and executive forums.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in cost planning, quantity surveying, or estimating, with significant experience in major General or mixed-use developments.
• Demonstrated experience leading external cost consultants and reviewing consultant-produced cost plans across multiple design, procurement, and delivery stages.
• Strong knowledge of cost planning governance, benchmarking, design-to-budget principles, phasing, risk and contingency management, inflation, escalation, and cost reporting.
• Advanced proficiency in cost planning software and digital tools for reviewing and validating cost plans.
• Professional membership with RICS, AIQS, or an equivalent body is preferred.
• Experience operating within complex stakeholder environments, major governance frameworks, and executive decision-making settings is preferred.

Key Performance Measures

• Assigned projects and portfolios maintain a documented and current cost position.
• Cost planning inputs for governance submissions comply with Qiddiya Cost Planning Technical Guidelines and are provided within required timeframes.
• Consultant-produced cost plans are reviewed and challenged at key stages, with clear recommendations recorded.
• Qiddiya cost planning resources are effectively managed, with clear priorities and consistent standards.
• Material cost movement, cost risk, and non-compliance issues are identified and escalated promptly.

Stakeholder Engagement

The Director will interface with General Business Unit leadership and project teams, the Central Development Unit Cost Planning team, Development Management General and Stage Gate stakeholders, design management teams, commercial, procurement, finance, project management, and operations functions, as well as executive and project cost consultants. Effective coordination and strong leadership in these interactions are crucial for success.