Local Content Expert📣 Job Ad

About the Role

Applus+ Asia Middle East and Africa is seeking a Local Content Expert to join our team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time position is central to managing and optimizing the local content agenda across our legal entities and projects. The role ensures compliance with Saudi Vision 2030 and the requirements set by the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA).

Role Context and Scope

The Local Content Expert will own the local content agenda, spanning from tender-stage local content (LC) calculations and certification support through to annual entity LC audits and ongoing project performance monitoring. This role sits under Operations, reporting directly to Commercial and functionally to Finance. It involves close collaboration with Procurement, Legal, O-PMO, and HR to protect and maximize the group's local content score.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate and support annual local content certification audits for entities in scope, acting as the primary interface with approved LC certification bodies and external auditors.
• Perform and support contract-level LC audits, validating spend classification, supplier declarations, and supporting evidence against LCGPA methodology.
• Prepare, review, and maintain LC calculation files and workings behind each certificate, ensuring figures are auditable and reconcile to source data (SAP / finance ledgers).
• Prepare local content calculations and projections for tenders and new project bids.
• Provide LC certificate and end-to-end process support through the bidding lifecycle, including price-preference implications and mandatory-list compliance.
• Monitor the LC performance of ongoing projects against committed percentages, identifying risks and deviations early.
• Track and analyze key LC metrics (score contribution, supplier localization, spend mix) and maintain dashboards and KPIs for management visibility.
• Act as the point of contact with the LCGPA and its representatives within client agencies.
• Keep LC files, assumptions, and methodology current as regulations change, and communicate the impact internally.
• Work with Procurement to identify, assess, and onboard local suppliers that meet required standards and improve the LC mix.
• Partner with HR and Procurement to propose solutions (role localization, sourcing changes) that enhance LC performance on live projects.
• Drive internal awareness of local content by facilitating workshops and training sessions for relevant departments.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Saudi national.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5-8 years of experience in local content, audit, compliance, or a related analytical finance function within KSA.
• Strong working knowledge of the full local content compliance landscape, including LCGPA regulations, LC certification methodology and score calculation, mandatory lists, and price-preference mechanisms.
• Advanced MS Excel and broader MS Office skills.
• Fluent in both Arabic and English, written and spoken.
• Technically minded and comfortable with data and calculation-heavy work.
• Proven stakeholder-management skills spanning finance, operations, and external authorities.
• Ability to operate effectively under a dual/matrix reporting line to both Operations and Finance.

Desirable Attributes

• Big4 experience, or a background in an international/multinational environment.
• Exposure to LC certification audits from the auditor or certification-body side.
• Experience in construction, or in testing, inspection & certification (TIC) / engineering services.

Application Information

This full-time position offers an opportunity to contribute significantly to Applus+ Asia Middle East and Africa's strategic objectives in local content development. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.