Director - Parks and Green Spaces

Role Overview

Director – Parks and Green Spaces at Qiddiya Investment Company, responsible for strategic leadership and governance of all landscape, horticulture, irrigation, parks, green corridors, streetscapes and public realm softscape assets across Qiddiya City.

Role Purpose

Provide strategic leadership, governance and portfolio oversight for all green spaces and landscaping assets across Qiddiya City. Establish the green spaces operating model, set standards, drive contractor and consultant performance, and ensure landscaped assets are safe, sustainable, resilient, visually high quality and guest-ready throughout the year.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Governance

• Establish and maintain the green spaces operating model, including standards, policies, inspection routines, maintenance strategies, service levels, KPIs, reporting and escalation governance.
• Drive sustainable landscape management, including water conservation, smart irrigation, climate-resilient planting, native and adaptive species strategies, biodiversity enhancement, green waste reduction and plant health management.
• Provide senior operational input into design reviews, value engineering, project gateways, testing, commissioning, handover and acceptance decisions for new landscape and irrigation assets.

Operations & Asset Management

• Lead the operation and maintenance of parks, gardens, medians, boulevards, public realm landscapes, recreational landscapes and associated irrigation infrastructure to ensure safe, healthy, attractive and guest-ready environments.
• Act as the senior technical authority for landscaping, horticulture, irrigation and public realm softscape operations, ensuring designs, handovers and operating practices are maintainable, sustainable and aligned with local conditions.
• Oversee asset registers, lifecycle plans, condition assessments, replacement programmes, risk registers, performance dashboards and operational readiness activities for all green space and landscape assets.

Contractor & Supplier Management

• Direct contractor, consultant and service provider performance through clear scopes of work, technical standards, audits, SLA/KPI management, commercial challenge, corrective action plans and governance reviews.

Budget & Resource Management

• Manage annual operating and capital budgets, identifying cost optimisation, resource planning and service improvement opportunities without compromising safety, quality, sustainability or guest experience.

Team Leadership

• Build, lead and develop the landscaping and green spaces team, setting clear priorities, developing capability, promoting accountability and ensuring disciplined, evidence-based decision making.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Agriculture, Irrigation Engineering, Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, Facilities Management or a related discipline.
• Typically 12–15+ years' experience across landscaping, horticulture, irrigation, parks, public realm, environmental operations, facilities management or city-scale operations and maintenance, including significant experience in a senior leadership role.
• Demonstrable experience leading large-scale landscape operations, public realm maintenance, irrigation networks, contractor governance, operational readiness, asset handover and lifecycle planning.
• Strong experience with local horticultural practices, climate-appropriate planting, water-efficient landscape management and plant species native to the Arabian Peninsula.
• Relevant professional or technical qualification in horticulture, irrigation management, arboriculture, landscape operations, asset management, project management, sustainability or health and safety is desirable.
• Desirable experience within master-planned cities or communities, mixed-use developments, entertainment destinations, giga-projects, municipal environments, parks, public realm assets or large-scale developments within Saudi Arabia or the GCC.