Director Water Management📣 Job Ad

About Jacobs and the Project

At Jacobs, we are committed to solving the world’s most critical problems to create thriving cities and resilient environments. As a key delivery partner on one of Saudi Arabia’s flagship giga projects, located approximately 45 km southwest of Riyadh, we contribute to a central pillar of Vision 2030. This landmark development aims to diversify the economy and enhance quality of life through world-class attractions, residential communities, and natural landscapes, while generating significant employment and enabling long-term, sustainable growth across All SA Regions.

The Opportunity: Director, Water Management

Jacobs (KSA) is seeking a Director, Water Management to provide strategic leadership for the city’s comprehensive water asset portfolio. This full-time role ensures that water infrastructure, networks, systems, services, and commercial arrangements are effectively planned, governed, and optimized throughout their lifecycle. The Director will develop long-term strategies, lifecycle investment plans, performance frameworks, regulatory assurance, and asset management standards to support safe, reliable, resilient, and cost-effective water services. The position oversees potable water, irrigation, wastewater, treated sewage effluent, stormwater, and water reuse systems, promoting water conservation, resource efficiency, and digital enablement, all while ensuring alignment with the city’s asset management framework, sustainability objectives, Saudi regulations, Vision 2030 priorities, and global best practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic direction, governance, operating model, policies, and performance framework for the city-wide water asset portfolio.
• Develop long-term water asset strategies, service models, demand forecasts, capacity plans, and lifecycle investment programmes aligned with city growth and operational requirements.
• Drive water conservation, reuse, demand management, leakage reduction, resource efficiency, and carbon reduction initiatives in line with ESG objectives and Vision 2030.
• Establish asset information, digital systems, smart metering, network monitoring, data governance, performance dashboards, and analytics to support informed decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with applicable water, wastewater, and environmental regulations, permits, licensing obligations, water quality standards, and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Oversee asset lifecycle management for water infrastructure, including treatment facilities, pumping stations, storage assets, distribution networks, irrigation systems, wastewater networks, and water reuse infrastructure.
• Lead health, safety, quality, and environmental management, ensuring water quality, safe operations, environmental protection, regulatory compliance, network resilience, and emergency preparedness.
• Develop commercial, procurement, investment, and service-provider governance strategies, including contracts, KPIs, SLAs, tariff considerations, budgeting, and lifecycle cost optimisation.
• Build strong relationships with developers, operators, utility providers, facility managers, regulators, government authorities, and community stakeholders to support water service and sustainability objectives.
• Lead organisational capability development, fostering a culture of safety, operational excellence, innovation, sustainability, continuous improvement, and workforce development.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• A minimum of 18 years of experience in water, wastewater, utilities, infrastructure operations, asset management, or city-scale service delivery.
• At least 8 years of experience in senior leadership roles within the specified fields.
• Proven expertise across potable water, wastewater, irrigation, treated sewage effluent, stormwater, and water reuse systems, including treatment, pumping, storage, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.
• Strong knowledge of Saudi water and environmental regulations, water quality standards, utility governance, resource efficiency, ESG frameworks, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience leading water strategy, procurement, operational readiness, service mobilisation, performance management, audits, lifecycle planning, OPEX/CAPEX management, and contractor oversight.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver reliable, sustainable, and commercially viable water management operations within a complex city, destination, or mixed-use development.

Essential Skills and Knowledge

• Advanced capabilities in smart water technologies, IoT, GIS, digital twins, smart metering, network monitoring, leakage detection, data analytics, and water demand management.
• Strong experience in asset performance, network resilience, business continuity, emergency planning, stakeholder management, and executive-level reporting.

Work Type and Location

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, supporting a critical giga-project that impacts All SA Regions. Salary for this role will be disclosed during the recruitment process.