Manager - Regional Cultural Program

Role Overview

Manager - Regional Cultural Program at Qiddiya Investment Company, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Company Overview

Qiddiya is Saudi Arabia's future capital of entertainment, sports, and culture — a 360 km² mega-project just outside Riyadh. The development includes F1-grade racetracks, theme parks, stadiums, and performance venues, representing a national transformation initiative.

Role Purpose

Lead the planning, coordination, and delivery of regional cultural programming to ensure authentic, engaging, and high-quality cultural experiences that represent Saudi regions and align with overall programming objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Program Planning & Delivery

• Develop, produce, deliver, and manage detailed programming plans for all regional pavilions aligned with the overall programming calendar.
• Structure daily and seasonal schedules across regions to ensure diversity, balance, and continuous visitor engagement.
• Coordinate delivery of performances, demonstrations, and experiences across regional zones.
• Establish and manage relationships with relevant regional and international cultural entities and aligned programs and events.

Cultural Representation & Content Development

• Curate authentic regional content in collaboration with regional entities and cultural stakeholders.
• Ensure consistency in quality, storytelling, and visitor experience across all regional pavilions.
• Define program requirements, themes, and cultural narratives for each region.
• Maintain strong knowledge of and relationships with regional cultural organizations and stakeholders.

Stakeholder & Government Coordination

• Manage relationships with regional representatives, government entities, and cultural institutions.
• Coordinate participation, logistics, and readiness of all regional contributors.
• Ensure alignment with stakeholder expectations and cultural objectives.

Operational Integration & Readiness

• Coordinate with Operations, FM, and Asset teams to ensure readiness of all regional spaces.
• Ensure program feasibility, scheduling, and capacity planning across pavilions.
• Support setup, rehearsals, and live delivery across all regions.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor visitor engagement and attendance across regional programs.
• Identify underperforming areas and implement improvements.
• Ensure consistent delivery standards across all regional experiences.
• Drive financial performance of regional programs through program planning, development, and delivery.
• Work with Commercial to identify and develop revenue opportunities that support program financial sustainability.

Qualifications & Experience

• 6–10 years of experience with a strong background in cultural programming, event management, or heritage-related initiatives.
• Proven experience working with regional cultural programs, heritage initiatives, or community-based cultural activities.
• Strong understanding of Saudi regional cultures, traditions, and heritage diversity.
• Experience ensuring authentic representation and cultural accuracy across multiple contributors.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple stakeholders, including government entities, regional representatives, and cultural institutions.
• Ability to coordinate and align diverse stakeholders with varying expectations and requirements.
• Proven experience in planning and delivering multi-activity or multi-location programs.
• Ability to manage parallel program streams across different zones or locations.
• Experience translating high-level programming plans into detailed schedules and execution plans.
• Experience working closely with operations teams to ensure program feasibility and delivery.
• Understanding of site logistics, capacity management, and event constraints.
• Ability to support delivery in live, fast-paced environments.
• Experience in large-scale cultural festivals, national events, or destination programming.
• Exposure to multi-regional or multi-cultural program environments.
• Experience working within structured or government-led environments is preferred.
• Experience in pre-opening or activation phases is an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong understanding of Saudi regional culture and heritage.
• Stakeholder coordination and relationship management.
• Event and program delivery capability.
• Cultural sensitivity and attention to detail.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across programming, commercial, marketing, and ecosystem teams.
• Ability to balance cultural integrity with commercial objectives and outcomes.

Additional Information

Key Success Metrics

• Participation of regional stakeholders.
• Visitor engagement across regional pavilions.
• Quality and authenticity of representation.
• Delivery of regional program budget in line with approved targets.