Development Director

Company Overview

NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a new future might look like. A region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, NEOM is being built from the ground up to include hyperconnected, cognitive cities, ports, next-generation infrastructure and industries, enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues and tourist destinations.

As a destination, it will be a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses and reinventing environmental conservation.

As a workplace, it is a place for people who share our core values of care, curiosity, diversity, passion, respect, and becoming a catalyst for change.

Are you ready to help NEOM find solutions to the world's most pressing challenges Are you prepared to create a lasting legacy that benefits generations to come Then we want to hear from you!

Role Overview

To oversee the development of Magna by reviewing the technical feasibility studies including the economic impact and the estimated required capital and operating costs to ensure GoA's profitability and oversee the overall direction in the planning, organization, management and control of real estate development projects to ensure that the project cycle is completed meeting agreed project parameters, standards, and objectives

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Strategy Development, Planning and/ or Contribution

• Manage the development and implementation of the divisional strategy ensuring alignment to GoA's vision, mission, and corporate objectives
• Proactively monitor and measure the implementation of the divisional strategy and related strategic plan ensuring that variances are addressed in a timely manner
• Ensure the provision of subject matter expertise for the assigned domain and provide counsel to GoA's leadership on all related areas to facilitate the achievement of the divisional strategic plan and GoA's strategy
  
  

People Management

• Manage the achievement of divisional objectives through effective leadership and by managing the setting of individual objectives, monitoring and measuring performance, and developing and motivating the team to maximize performance
• Lead the talent development initiatives, collaborating with departmental experts and thereby ensuring the availability of talent to fit the business requirements
  
  

Budgeting and Financial Performance

• Manage the consolidation and recommend the divisional budget and monitor financial performance versus the budget to identify any variances or performance improvement areas
  
  

Change Management

• Lead the management of change through continuous improvement of divisional systems, processes and practices considering leading standards and changes in the business environment
  
  

Reporting

• Ensure that all divisional reports are prepared timely and accurately and meet GoA's requirements, policies, procedures, and quality standards
  
  

Policies, Systems, Processes & Procedures

• Develop and lead the implementation of divisional policies, systems, processes, procedures, and controls so that all relevant procedural/ legislative requirements are fulfilled while delivering a quality, cost-effective service in a consistent manner
• Monitor and measure adherence to divisional policies, systems, processes, and controls ensuring that variances are mitigated in a timely manner
  
  

Project Initiation

• Manage the creation/refinement of Project development plans, designs, and standards to meet with overall Development objectives. Verify that the design and delivery teams are aligned with the development plan to fulfill requirements
• Guide the development of methodologies to prioritize projects based on a set criteria and mechanisms to resolve issues, resource constraints, and conflicts
• Translate the Project development plans into viable projects aligning each project with a business case and feasibility study highlighting the impact and objectives of the project as part of the overall GOA vision and mission
• Set the objectives and measures upon which projects will be evaluated to align expectations
• Manage project mobilization and ensure adequate resourcing of people, processes, and equipment are provided as per project plan throughout the project lifecycle to fulfill project plans and requirements
  
  

Project Concept Development

• Oversee the development of the Project vision, concept, value proposition and asset mix to ensure alignment with GoA objectives
• Oversee the evaluation of concept(s) ideas and creation of project vision and mission statement(s)
• Oversee the development of design briefs in coordination with the Pre concept Design & Master Planning and the Concept & Detailed Design teams
• Oversee collaboration with the departments of Pre-concept Design & Master Planning and Concept & Detailed Design to ensure that the designs (concept, schematic, detailed, and working) generated are in line with the overall concept and project brief parameters
• Assist project teams as a center of excellence to guarantee project returns are maintained or improved
• Oversee the collaboration with the NEOM Investment Fund (now NEOM company) in order to achieve a seamless land transfer to GoA
  
  

Feasibility Studies

• Conduct market assessments, consumer surveys, pricing strategy studies, and other tasks to assist the Investment & Project Feasibility team in the creation of the feasibility study and project business case
• Review technical feasibility studies, including economic effect and projected necessary capital for the projects, in collaboration with relevant parties to assure GoA and relevant parties profitability
• Continuously monitor and coordinate with the Investment & Project Feasibility team and NEOM Sectors to update projects business plans and financial feasibilities during project delivery and operations
• Scrutinize the integration of forecast and budgeting techniques into projects and monitor the adherence to project budgets to control the financial performance of the project
• Oversee the development of project financial structuring strategies in conjunction with the finance department to finance projects optimally
  
  

Program Planning

• Oversee communication with the Design & Delivery Department to verify that the assets construction follows the authorized business cases, including specifications, budgets, and timelines, and to analyze the effect of any deviations
• Coordinate with the Design & Delivery Department to verify that the assets construction follows the authorized business cases, including specifications, budgets, and timelines, and to analyze and manage any deviations
• Provide general guidance for real estate development project planning, organization, management, and control to guarantee that the project cycle is completed according to agreed-upon project specifications, standards, and objectives
• Approve the terms of reference of real estate development projects based on requirements and the scope of services to document project deliverables, cost budget and the approximate timeline, quality, and buildability
• Oversee the progress of projects through monitoring and controlling it against budgeted costs, quality, timelines, standard of contractor(s) and consultant(s) to ensure all efforts are aligned and that the project specifications and approved parameters are met
  
  

Project Support and Logistics Management

• Oversee the development of clear and rigorous project schedules as well as value and scope management techniques to integrate them into project schedules and plans to ensure on-time delivery and quality standards
• Manage the creation of models, workflows, protocols, and standards. Oversee the digital construction procedures at the design, construction, and handover stages of a project to support project activities
• Ascertain that logistics activities (e.g. organization of storage and distribution of goods) are adequately managed to facilitate operations
• Direct the management of invoices and claims for projects and ascertain that all project expenditures are captured and properly recorded to track and manage the projects financial performance
• Oversee the management of project documents and ensure that they are adequately stored in databases and updated as needed so that documents can be used easily when required
  
  

Continuous Improvement

• Support Asset Management divisions in assessing partnerships performance and identifying improvement areas & corrective measures
  
  

Stakeholders Management

• Support Asset Management and Sales and Leasing divisions in their discussions with 3rd party operators (e.g., hotels, marinas)
• Manage the liaison with Property and Facilities Management teams to ensure smooth handover of assets within Project into operations
• Manage the development and maintenance of relationships with local and national officials to enable the achievement of development plans
  
  

Experience & Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Engineering expertise
• Partnership performance
• Project concept development
• Financial feasibilities studies
• Real-estate development projects
• Planning and organization
• Decision making and problem-solving
• Strong oral and written communications
• Strong leadership skills and an ability to connect with people to drive successful relationships
• A demonstrable track record of working at the highest standards and delivering outstanding results, including managing change and delivering on growth strategies
• Ability to work with key stakeholders, senior executives, management team and external partners/ advisors through collaboration & teamwork in a non-hierarchical relationship framework
• 15+ years of relevant experience in real estate development with at least 3 years in positions of progressively increasing managerial responsibilities
• Experience in KSA and/ or GCC preferred
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Architecture, or any other related field