Senior Urban Planning Specialist📣 Job Ad

About the Role

HanmiGlobal MENA is seeking a Senior Urban Planning Specialist to join its program management and PMCM team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time position involves providing program-level urban planning expertise and technical design support for a large-scale land and infrastructure development program, managed on behalf of a major government entity.

Role Context and Responsibilities

In this role, you will deliver program-level planning expertise, technical assurance, and collaborative design support. Your primary focus will be reviewing and monitoring all master planning, land use, and public realm submissions across the program. You will ensure that urban design and development planning frameworks are fully integrated and compliant with approved master plans, sustainability objectives, planning regulations, and client criteria, all under the direction of the Design Manager. This position supports the successful delivery of the overall development program.

Key responsibilities include:

• Reviewing and assessing master plans, land use plans, urban planning studies, urban design proposals, development strategies, and planning submissions for compliance with approved frameworks, client requirements, statutory regulations, and project objectives.
• Evaluating zoning, land use allocation, development density, planning controls, phasing strategies, and development capacity to support efficient and sustainable land development.
• Coordinating multidisciplinary planning reviews with the Design Manager and Program Technical Team, ensuring integration across urban planning, transportation, infrastructure, utilities, landscape, environmental, and engineering disciplines.
• Identifying and resolving planning conflicts, interface issues, and development constraints, while supporting the assessment of Value Engineering proposals, design changes, and planning risks.
• Liaising with the Client, government authorities, utility providers, Lead Developers, Consultants, and other stakeholders to facilitate planning approvals, resolve technical comments, and ensure compliance with planning and regulatory requirements.
• Participating in planning workshops, technical review meetings, stakeholder consultations, and multidisciplinary coordination sessions.
• Preparing planning assessments, review comments, technical reports, recommendations, and executive summaries to support decision-making by the Design Manager, PMCM Management, and the Client.
• Maintaining accurate records of planning reviews, approvals, and coordination activities, while promoting planning best practices and continuous improvement.

Qualifications and Experience

Candidates should possess the following qualifications and experience:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Urban Planning, Town Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Regional Planning, or a related discipline.
• Chartered Professional membership or equivalent professional accreditation.
• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of professional experience in urban planning, master planning, mixed-use developments, land development, infrastructure programs, or major urban development projects.
• Experience within PMCM, PMC, consultancy, developer, or client-side organizations, preferably on major developments in Saudi Arabia or the GCC.

Core Competencies

Successful candidates will demonstrate proficiency in the following areas:

• Urban and Master Planning
• Land Use Planning & Development Control
• Urban Design & Public Realm Planning
• Sustainable Urban Development
• Planning Compliance & Regulatory Review
• Multidisciplinary Planning Coordination
• Infrastructure and Land Use Integration
• Planning Risk Assessment
• Value Engineering Review
• Stakeholder & Authority Coordination
• Technical Report Preparation
• Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Communication, and Problem Solving.

Work Details

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Salary is not disclosed.