Architecture Lead

The Architectural Lead is a senior position on the team functioning in capacity of Program Management Office (PMO).

The program entails urban renewal and refurbishment of the central Riyadh district, with PMO professional staff assigned in a collocated and integrated environment with client personnel.

The program encompasses an area in central Riyadh and is deemed a historic and heritage venue of the municipality.

The locale is densely populated and a highly built-up area, with a number of existing assets and premises valued by the client as having singular importance and linkage to Riyadh’s formative years.

By and large the program is a *brownfield development*, with existing public and private sector organizations and enterprises to be operable during the urban refurbishment.

The locale is also highly eclectic in terms of population, urban character, and commercial and industry establishments in residence.

The client desires to give the central Riyadh district an identifiable and recognizable urban character that also prominently positions notable heritage sites.

The central Riyadh district is envisioned to be a notable destination of the municipality and a highly sought after location for residents, visitors, and commercial establishments.

The Architectural Lead (Senior Manager level) is a highly experienced professional in the fields of design and design management and architectural motifs for a myriad of buildings, diversified infrastructure, civic public transportation systems, and for public domain structures and landscaping, inter alia.

The incumbent must have demonstrative experience in all aspects of design and delivery of projects, with ability to provide practical, anticipatory, and analytical advice – and undertake and coordinate integrated technical reviews of work product done by internal teams and consultants.

The incumbent must also possess formidable design management, project management, and bid preparation skills and proven track-record of successful and timely delivery of projects.

The Architectural Lead will report directly to the PMO Program Director, and will perform his or her duties collaboratively with the client, peers within the PMO team, external consultants and contractors, and with regulatory and stakeholder principals.

The following highlights the incumbent’s profile, knowledge factors, and responsibilities of the position.

A minimum 15+ global experience in leading architecture projects.

The incumbent must have experience as Architectural Lead for a minimum of 5 large-scale multi-disciplinary projects, ideally including heritage-led projects within urban regeneration programs.

The incumbent must also have a postgraduate degree in architecture, relevant professional certifications in architecture (e.g., RIBA, AIA) and preferably certifications in project and/or program management.

He or she must have demonstrable leadership and interpersonal abilities, experience in stakeholder engagement and preferably within Saudi Arabia, and excellent verbal and written skills.

Fluency or working knowledge of Arabic a plus.

He or she will also have experience and knowledge of international and local architectural codes and standards – with experience in Arab and Middle Eastern motifs a plus. The incumbent will be required to prepare, lead, and deliver design charettes and technical workshops, and in assuming a leadership role in design reviews for varied classes of assets – including but not limited to residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental buildings, local transportation networks, architectural design of select infrastructure, and for public domain structures and landscaping.

The incumbent will also be required to advise and support the Program Director and senior PMO staff respective to status of core equity work product – including with respect to cost, schedule, and performance key indicators and milestones.

He or she will also be required to support any value engineering exercises in capacity as architectural subject matter expert.