Associate / Principle Strategic Urban Planners

About the Role

SNC-Lavalin Fayez Engineering is seeking an experienced Associate / Principal Strategic Urban Planner to join the Planning and Urban Development team. This full-time position involves delivering complex strategic planning, urban development, and master planning assignments across the Middle East. The role requires strong expertise in strategic planning, spatial planning, land-use planning, development frameworks, and urban policy.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to strategic urban planning, regional planning, city planning, and master planning projects.
• Develop strategic spatial frameworks, land-use strategies, development frameworks, growth scenarios, and planning policies.
• Undertake analysis of existing urban conditions, demographics, land use, infrastructure, mobility, environmental constraints, and development opportunities.
• Prepare urban growth strategies, spatial development plans, structure plans, and strategic planning frameworks.
• Translate strategic objectives and development visions into practical spatial and land-use recommendations.
• Coordinate urban planning activities with transport, infrastructure, environmental, landscape, economic, and urban design disciplines.
• Conduct planning assessments, benchmarking studies, development capacity assessments, and planning policy reviews.
• Support the development of planning regulations, development controls, zoning strategies, planning guidelines, and implementation frameworks.
• Evaluate alternative development scenarios and provide evidence-based recommendations to clients.
• Lead or support stakeholder engagement workshops with government authorities, developers, municipalities, and other key stakeholders.
• Prepare high-quality technical reports, planning strategies, presentations, and client deliverables.
• Manage project scope, programme, resources, technical quality, and planning deliverables.
• Review work produced by planners and junior team members, ensuring technical accuracy and consistency.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior and mid-level urban planning professionals.
• Maintain an understanding of emerging trends in sustainable urban development, smart cities, transit-oriented development, climate resilience, and integrated planning.
• Contribute to proposals, bids, technical methodologies, fee estimates, and business development activities.

Required Expertise

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to translate economic, social, environmental, and infrastructure considerations into integrated and implementable planning strategies. This includes a strong foundation in strategic planning, spatial planning, land-use planning, development frameworks, and urban policy.