FIFA Design Compliance Expert

About the Project and Role

Mace is engaged in strategic project management consultancy for significant new stadium constructions, multiple stadium redevelopments, and wider precinct transformations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This initiative includes delivering new stadiums, expanding existing stadia capacity, establishing major mixed-use amenities, and implementing knowledge-transfer programs to ensure operational excellence and long-term sustainability beyond construction. The FIFA Design Compliance Expert will join a dedicated team responsible for addressing all FIFA and World Cup requirements throughout the design process for Stadium and Training site Programmes. This part-time role involves providing authoritative interpretation, design assurance, and strategic guidance from concept design through detailed design, technical approvals, and design freeze. The position requires over 10 years of experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Interface with FIFA, the World Cup Authority, and the client, contributing to design reviews, technical workshops, submissions, and approval meetings, while providing clear positions on compliance, design acceptability, derogations, and risks.
• Manage and maintain FIFA design requirements, the compliance matrix, and the design assurance plan, translating FIFA stadium standards and host requirements into clear briefs, criteria, and actions for all design disciplines.
• Review and challenge stadium designs from concept through detailed design to confirm compliance across various aspects including the field of play, seating bowl and sightlines, spectator circulation, accessibility, safety and security, broadcast, media, hospitality, team and official facilities, back-of-house areas, masterplan tournament mode design, logistics, transport interfaces, and fan experience.
• Establish design-stage compliance gateways and coordinate the preparation, quality assurance, and submission of design reports, drawings, schedules, dashboards, and evidence packs required for FIFA and authority reviews.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary design integration across architecture, structural engineering, MEP, ICT, security, fire and life safety, vertical transportation, landscape, wayfinding, acoustics, lighting, broadcast, and specialist venue systems, ensuring interfaces and spatial requirements are resolved from a FIFA perspective before design freeze.
• Coordinate permanent works with temporary and overlay requirements, identifying where provisions, capacities, routes, loadings, spaces, and connection points must be embedded in the base design to avoid late redesign or unnecessary long-term cost.
• Provide program-wide design assurance across multiple stadiums and training facilities, reporting compliance status, design risks, departures, decisions, and mitigation actions, while promoting consistency and lessons learned across the venue portfolio.
• Advise client leadership and design teams on FIFA strategy, value engineering, design changes, approvals, and legacy outcomes, ensuring cost or program decisions do not compromise mandatory compliance or venue functionality.

Qualifications and Experience

• A degree in architecture, engineering, sports venue design, or a related discipline. Professional accreditation and FIFA-related credentials are desirable.
• Extensive design-stage experience (10+ years) on FIFA World Cup stadiums and training facilities, major football venues, or comparable international event venues, with involvement from concept design through detailed design and approvals.
• Proven experience interpreting FIFA stadium requirements and converting them into design briefs, compliance matrices, review comments, technical submissions, and coordinated design solutions.
• Strong technical understanding of stadium planning and design, including seating bowl geometry and sightlines, crowd movement, accessibility, safety and security, fire and life safety, broadcast and media, hospitality, player and official facilities, back-of-house operations, and overlay interfaces.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary design reviews and resolving interfaces between architecture, engineering, specialist venue systems, operational requirements, BIM coordination, and temporary event infrastructure.
• Program-level experience providing design assurance across multiple stadiums, training sites, or sport venues, with the ability to manage compliance, risk, cost, program, approvals, and legacy considerations.

Required Skills

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Credibility to lead technical discussions, provide clear design direction, and constructively challenge consultants and senior stakeholders.

Work Environment

This role is based in Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and operates on a part-time basis. The successful candidate will work closely with the client, World Cup Authority, FIFA, Lead Designers, specialist consultants, and program teams.