Director, Urban Realm and Landscape

At Qiddiya Investment Company, we are shaping a landmark destination redefining entertainment, culture and hospitality in the Kingdom. The Hospitality Business Unit is developing a portfolio of hotel assets central to this vision. As these assets progress, we are seeking experienced professionals to help deliver them to the highest standards of design quality, guest experience and commercial performance.

In this role, you will lead the urban realm and landscape design agenda across the hospitality portfolio, defining landscape narratives, arrival experiences and external spaces across all asset tiers, shaping distinctive and experiential outdoor environments aligned with Qiddiya’s vision and ensuring seamless connectivity and integration across ground planes and adjacent zones.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creative urban realm and landscape definition of hospitality environments from development brief to approved design direction, curating distinctive, emotive and commercially viable arrival experiences and external spaces aligned with Qiddiya, district and Operator visions
• Articulate and position urban realm and landscape proposals through compelling narratives, visuals and presentations to secure alignment and timely outcomes across governance stages
• Define urban realm and landscape principles, narratives, planting strategies, material palettes and signature elements for each hotel tier, establishing consistent and distinctive design baselines across the portfolio
• Oversee consultant briefing and scope definition, validating design scope and specialist inputs to ensure alignment with development brief, design intent, Operator standards and governance approvals
• Oversee visualisation and design communication (including CGI strategy), ensuring concepts are clearly articulated and aligned with design narratives and stakeholder expectations
• Lead and govern landscape and specialist consultants, driving strategic approaches on appointment, scope and deliverables and overseeing performance, quality and creative alignment
• Provide functional governance to project-embedded design management teams, reviewing and endorsing urban realm and landscape deliverables to ensure approved design intent is maintained through delivery
• Lead structured review of design submissions across key milestones, providing clear feedback and endorsement to support design progression
• Lead technical input to development briefs and coordinate across disciplines, embedding cohesive external environments across arrival, transition zones and amenities
• Drive integration across architecture, interiors and masterplanning, ensuring seamless connectivity between ground planes and zones
• Oversee landscape FF&E and OS&E strategies, ensuring alignment with design intent and commercial requirements
• Lead mock-ups and prototyping (e.g. planting, materials, paving), ensuring quality through to landscape freeze
• Provide creative and technical design oversight through design and construction, resolving interfaces and deviations to maintain quality and design integrity
• Guide value engineering and design optimisation, balancing design intent with external environment performance, guest experience, cost, programme and operational requirements
• Champion innovation in guest experience, materials and sensory design, embedding ESG and Vision 2030 priorities
• Mentor teams and drive continuous improvement of design processes, standards and best practices across the portfolio

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture, Urban Design or related discipline

Professional Certifications

• Professional membership or recognised certification preferred (e.g. CMLI, ASLA or equivalent)

Years of Experience

• 15+ years’ experience in design management, architecture or interior design

Skills & Attributes Required

• Strong landscape and urban realm design literacy, with ability to operate from masterplan scale to detailed external environments
• Deep understanding of hospitality outdoor design, including arrival sequences, spatial flow, planting strategies, materials and external guest experience
• Strong creative and spatial thinking, with ability to translate landscape narratives into compelling concepts and coordinated design outputs
• Ability to manage landscape consultants and influence design outcomes across multiple disciplines
• Strong stakeholder management, articulating landscape intent to secure alignment and drive decision-making
• Commercial awareness of landscape construction, FF&E budgets, programme constraints and value engineering impacts
• Good understanding of climate-responsive design, planting, irrigation and environmental systems relevant to KSA/GCC contexts
• Proficiency in design and coordination tools (e.g. AutoCAD, Rhino, Adobe CC, BIM/CDE platforms)

Preferred Background & Experience

• Experience in a senior landscape or urban realm leadership role (Design Director, Principal or equivalent) within a design practice or developer environment
• Proven track record delivering hospitality or resort landscape environments across concept through construction
• Experience managing external landscape consultants and specialist sub-consultants (e.g. water features, lighting)
• Experience working across multi-disciplinary teams, integrating architecture, interiors and masterplanning
• Experience developing and delivering landscape mock-ups, prototyping and material validation
• Strong experience presenting landscape concepts and external environment strategies to senior stakeholders
• Experience working with hospitality Operators and external amenity requirements
• Experience in KSA / GCC or similar large-scale development environments preferred