Overview
Lead of Project Planning (Design) Jobs in Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at Confidential
Title: Lead of Project Planning (Design)
Company: Confidential
Location: Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Role Purpose
Saudi Diyar Consultants is seeking an experienced and strategic Lead of Design Planning to establish, lead, and continuously enhance the Planning Function across the organization.
This role is responsible for planning, scheduling, resource management, workload forecasting, and performance monitoring across a portfolio of multidisciplinary design and engineering projects.
The position focuses on the planning and management of the design delivery lifecycle, including Concept Design, Schematic Design, Detailed Design, Tender Documentation, and IFC Deliverables, while ensuring effective utilization of architectural, engineering, urban planning, landscape, interior design, and specialist resources across the organization.
The successful candidate will provide executive management with portfolio-level visibility of design performance, resource capacity, project workload, and delivery commitments while establishing planning governance across all design disciplines.
Key ResponsibilitiesDesign Planning Leadership & Governance
- Lead and manage the corporate Design Planning Function across all offices and disciplines.
- Develop and implement planning standards, design scheduling methodologies, and reporting frameworks specific to design and consultancy projects.
- Establish governance processes for design planning, design progress measurement, deliverable tracking, and resource forecasting.
- Ensure consistency in planning practices across Architecture, Engineering, Interior Design, Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture, and specialist disciplines.
- Mentor and develop planning professionals supporting design delivery teams.
Design Portfolio Planning & Delivery Management
- Oversee planning, scheduling, and monitoring of a portfolio of multidisciplinary design projects.
- Develop and maintain integrated design schedules covering all project stages from concept through IFC issuance.
- Monitor design deliverables, submission milestones, review cycles, approvals, and client commitments.
- Identify design bottlenecks, coordination challenges, resource constraints, and schedule risks.
- Collaborate with Design Directors, Discipline Leads, and Project Managers to develop recovery and mitigation plans.
- Provide executive-level dashboards and reporting on design delivery performance across the portfolio.
Resource Planning & Capacity Management
- Lead company-wide resource planning and utilization management for design and engineering teams.
- Forecast workload demand and resource requirements across all disciplines.
- Monitor staff utilization, capacity, and project allocation to optimize productivity and project performance.
- Support recruitment planning and strategic workforce forecasting based on future project pipelines.
- Develop resource forecasting models aligned with business growth objectives.
Design Performance & Business Support
- Support proposal and bid activities through design resource assessments and delivery planning.
- Assist in developing project execution strategies and design delivery plans.
- Establish KPIs and performance metrics for design productivity, utilization, schedule adherence, and deliverable performance.
- Support executive management in strategic planning, business growth, and operational improvement initiatives.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related discipline.
- Minimum 15 years of experience in project planning, design planning, resource management, or project controls within a design consultancy environment.
- Minimum 5 years of experience leading a planning department, design planning team, PMO planning function, or corporate planning function.
- Demonstrated experience managing planning activities across multiple concurrent design and engineering projects.
- Strong experience in resource forecasting, workload management, and portfolio planning within consultancy organizations.
- Experience working within an Architectural Consultancy, Engineering Consultancy, Multidisciplinary Design Consultancy, PMCM, or Design Management Consultancy is essential.
- Experience in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, is highly desirable.
Preferred Profile (Critical Requirement)
The ideal candidate will have a proven track record leading a Design Planning Function or Corporate Planning Department within an architectural, engineering, or multidisciplinary design consultancy.
Candidates must demonstrate experience in:
- Design delivery planning and scheduling.
- Design resource planning and utilization management.
- Multidisciplinary design coordination.
- Management of design deliverables and submission programs.
- Portfolio planning across multiple design projects and disciplines.
Candidates whose experience is primarily focused on contractor planning, construction supervision, site execution planning, EPC project controls, delay analysis, claims management, EOT preparation, or construction-phase scheduling without significant design consultancy experience will not be considered suitable for this position.
Experience within organizations such as architectural consultancies, engineering consultancies, multidisciplinary design firms, PMCM organizations, or design management consultancies is strongly preferred.