Project Director - Smart City Delivery

Role Overview

Project Director – Smart City Delivery at JLL, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. You will provide strategic programme leadership across IT, OT, and construction delivery environments within large-scale, government-level smart city initiatives, acting as the principal translator between business ambition and technical execution.

Company Overview

JLL is a leading global provider of real estate and investment management services. The organization is committed to hiring talented people and empowering them to build meaningful careers by combining world-class services, advisory, and technology for clients.

Role Purpose

To lead complex, multi-faceted smart city programmes that transform urban environments by converting strategic objectives and public-sector mandates into structured technology delivery programmes, ensuring alignment with client objectives, government mandates, and public sector requirements while managing multi-disciplinary teams across IT, OT, infrastructure, and construction interfaces.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Governance

• Provide overall strategic leadership and direction for large-scale smart city delivery programmes.
• Convert strategic objectives and public-sector mandates into structured technology delivery programmes, ensuring traceability from requirement to operational outcome.
• Lead programme governance structures, chairing steering committees and programme boards with senior government officials, executive stakeholders, and delivery partners.
• Navigate complex contractual, political, and organizational landscapes to maintain programme momentum and stakeholder confidence.

Programme Delivery & Operations

• Direct multi-disciplinary programmes spanning IT, OT, infrastructure, and construction interfaces, applying structured programme management methodologies (e.g., MSP, PMI, PRINCE2).
• Drive value realization through continuous monitoring of benefits, outcomes, and performance against business cases.
• Identify and mitigate programme-level risks, escalating critical issues and implementing resolution strategies.

Stakeholder & Relationship Management

• Manage competing stakeholder priorities across CIO functions, smart city design teams, delivery authorities, and systems integrators; drive alignment and facilitate risk-balanced decisions in complex governance environments.
• Build and maintain full client relationships across technical and commercial dimensions in competitive delivery environments.
• Manage relationships with master systems integrators, technology vendors, construction partners, and consulting firms.

Financial & Commercial Management

• Own project-level P&L responsibility (approximately $5M), managing budgets, financial performance, and commercial outcomes.
• Articulate technical decisions in terms of economic, operational, and societal value; maintain oversight of performance metrics, risk registers, commercial exposure, and milestone achievement.

Reporting & Communication

• Provide executive-level reporting to senior leadership, government entities, and key stakeholders on programme status, risks, and strategic decisions.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop programme delivery teams, fostering high-performance culture and capability development.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 15 years of experience delivering large-scale, highly complex programmes in smart city, digital transformation, infrastructure, or government technology environments.
• Proven track record leading multi-disciplinary programmes with IT, OT, construction, and infrastructure components.
• Demonstrated success managing government-level stakeholder relationships and navigating public sector delivery environments.
• Track record delivering programmes on time, within budget, and to required quality standards in complex, dynamic environments.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business Administration, Project Management, or related discipline.
• Professional certifications such as MSP Practitioner, PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, or equivalent are highly desirable.

Skills & Competencies

• Expert knowledge of programme management methodologies (MSP, PMI, PRINCE2, or equivalent).
• Strong commercial acumen with experience managing project P&L, budgets, and financial performance.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex technical concepts into business language and strategic objectives into technical delivery plans.
• Extensive experience with governance frameworks, risk management, and stakeholder management in politically sensitive environments.
• Proven capability resolving conflicts and driving consensus among diverse stakeholder groups with competing priorities.
• Strong leadership skills with experience building, managing, and developing high-performing teams.
• Deep understanding of smart city technology domains including IT systems, OT infrastructure, IoT platforms, and urban digital services.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills with ability to engage confidently with C-suite executives, government officials, and technical teams.

Additional Information

• Location: On-site – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Applications are welcome from candidates who do not meet all requirements; JLL is interested in learning what you bring to the role.