Project Director📣 Job Ad

About the Role

Knight Frank MENA is seeking a Project Director to lead the successful delivery of a landmark super high-rise tower development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role operates within Knight Frank's Programmes service line, requiring the Project Director to act as the Client's senior representative. The position carries executive responsibility for managing the Client's interests throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring delivery safely, within budget, and to the highest international quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

The Project Director will provide strategic leadership across all phases of the development, leading multidisciplinary consultant teams and managing complex stakeholder relationships. Core responsibilities include:

• Acting as the Client's primary representative and providing strategic advice to senior Client representatives.
• Leading the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) team to achieve Client objectives across programme, cost, quality, and risk.
• Establishing governance frameworks, reporting structures, and decision-making protocols.
• Directing the delivery of the super high-rise development from design through construction and handover.
• Overseeing all aspects of project execution, ensuring alignment with approved programme, budget, and quality objectives.
• Driving timely decision-making and proactively resolving technical and commercial challenges.

Project and Programme Management

This role involves comprehensive oversight of project phases and controls:

• Maintaining executive oversight of the master programme and all critical path activities.
• Monitoring consultant and contractor performance against agreed milestones and contractual obligations.
• Identifying programme risks and implementing mitigation and recovery strategies.
• Leading the management and coordination of the full design consultant team, ensuring designs satisfy commercial, operational, and technical objectives.
• Managing design interfaces, overseeing design review workshops, and value engineering initiatives.

Commercial, Governance, and Risk Oversight

The Project Director is responsible for robust financial and risk management:

• Overseeing contract administration under FIDIC and other recognised forms of contract.
• Reviewing consultant recommendations for contractor payment applications, variations, and claims.
• Protecting the Client's commercial position through proactive contract administration and change control.
• Leading high-level commercial discussions and ensuring transparent commercial reporting and financial governance.
• Establishing and maintaining comprehensive project risk registers and ensuring independent quality assurance procedures are implemented.

Stakeholder and Team Leadership

This role requires strong leadership and relationship management skills:

• Building and maintaining relationships with the Client, project stakeholders, and executive leadership teams.
• Leading coordination across architects, engineers, specialist designers, and external advisors.
• Managing relationships with government authorities, regulatory bodies, and utility providers.
• Leading and mentoring Project Managers, Design Managers, Commercial Managers, Planning Managers, and specialist consultants.
• Fostering a collaborative, high-performance culture and supporting the development of junior project management professionals.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and experience:

• Over 10 years of experience delivering iconic high-rise developments.
• Extensive experience within a Project Management Consultancy (PMC) or client-side environment.
• Exceptional communication, governance, and management capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to provide trusted strategic advice to senior client representatives.