Executive Director Design Excellence CM📣 Job Ad

About the Role

Qiddiya is developing a landmark destination that redefines entertainment, culture, and hospitality in the Kingdom. The Hospitality Business Unit is creating a portfolio of hotel assets to support this vision. We are seeking experienced professionals to ensure these assets are delivered to the highest standards of design quality, guest experience, and commercial performance. This full-time role is based in Riyadh.

Role Overview

The Executive Director Design Excellence CM will lead the Design Excellence function across the hospitality portfolio. This role involves setting the creative and technical design agenda from strategy through to delivery. The successful candidate will serve as the senior design authority, ensuring all assets deliver distinctive, high-quality, and commercially robust environments that align with Qiddiya's vision through strong design integrity and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Design Excellence function, encompassing creative disciplines, design standards, BIM, and project-embedded design management resources.
• Shape and endorse design direction across the portfolio, guiding outcomes through key governance stages.
• Curate creative design responses, integrating Qiddiya, district, and Operator visions to deliver distinctive, emotive, and commercially viable assets.
• Define design principles, typologies, and benchmarks for each hotel tier, establishing consistent design baselines.
• Lead consultant strategy and governance, including scope definition, briefing, selection, and performance management.
• Provide technical input to development briefs and integrated coordination across disciplines, shaping planning, spatial configuration, and system integration.
• Offer technical design oversight through design and construction phases, resolving interfaces and deviations to maintain quality and design intent.
• Guide design reviews at key milestones to ensure alignment with design intent and project objectives.
• Oversee value engineering and design optimization, assessing impacts on design intent and asset performance.
• Ensure consultant performance to maintain quality, coordination, and alignment across disciplines.
• Champion sustainability and low-carbon design, embedding ESG and Vision 2030 priorities.
• Mentor teams and drive continuous improvement of design processes, standards, and best practices.

Qualifications and Experience

• A Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Interior Design, or a related discipline.
• Over 10 years of experience required, with 18+ years in design management, architecture, or interior design, including senior leadership experience.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale hospitality portfolios, including luxury assets.
• Experience governing external consultants and multi-disciplinary design teams.
• Experience working with hotel Operators and brand standards.
• Experience within large-scale or multi-asset development environments.
• Experience in KSA / GCC or similar large-scale development environments is preferred.
• Professional membership or recognized certification is preferred (*, RIBA, AIA, RICS, or equivalent).

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Qiddiya offers an attractive compensation and benefits package.