Associate Project Director

Mace combines construction expertise with consultancy to unlock potential in every person or project and redefine the boundaries of ambition. Our values shape the way we consult and define the people we want to join us on our journey.

The project

Mace is providing project management consultancy services on a major mixed-use development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This is an opportunity to join an ambitious programme, supporting the delivery of a significant new-build residential development from design through construction and handover.

As senior project manager, you will provide senior project management leadership and control across the full project lifecycle, from concept and pre-contract stages through procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.

This is not a traditional construction management-led SPM position. The successful candidate will bring strong front-end, design, and development experience alongside proven construction delivery capability.

You will work closely with the development and design functions, providing project management oversight, structure, and control during the critical early stages of the programme before leading the project through procurement and post-contract delivery.

You'll be responsible for:
•    Overseeing the end-to-end project management and delivery of major new-build residential assets from concept design through pre-contract, procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.
•    Establishing robust project governance, controls, reporting, and decision-making processes from the early design stages.
•    Taking ownership of the overall project programme, with particular focus on establishing, controlling and maintaining the design programme.
•    Providing early project management oversight across the development and design functions, ensuring development objectives are translated into clear and deliverable project requirements.
•    Coordinating with the PMC design managers and architect, design consultants, specialist consultants and wider multidisciplinary project team to ensure design deliverables are achieved against key milestones.
•    Challenging design progress, identifying programme risks and driving consultants and stakeholders toward timely decisions and resolution.
•    Managing the integration of design, approvals, procurement and construction programmes to maintain a clear route to delivery. This is consistent with the Mace SPM responsibility for producing and integrating design and authorities programmes with procurement and delivery programmes. 
•    Supporting and coordinating the project's residential sales launch strategy, ensuring critical design and delivery milestones support the required commercial launch dates.
•    Supervising the fast-track delivery of the sales center, managing interfaces between design, procurement, approvals and construction to achieve an accelerated programme and then the delivery of several high-end residential apartment buildings. 
•    Developing and maintaining the project execution plan, master programme, risk register, governance structure and project reporting requirements.
•    Managing procurement strategy and contractor appointment activities, ensuring appropriate consideration of packaging, sequencing, programme and project risk.
•    Transitioning the project effectively from pre-contract into construction and maintaining continuity of project leadership throughout delivery.
•    Managing consultants, contractors and specialist suppliers while driving accountability against programme, cost, quality and contractual requirements.
•    Monitoring project performance, identifying emerging risks and implementing recovery or mitigation measures where required.
•    Providing clear, concise reporting to senior stakeholders on programme, design, commercial matters, risks, decisions and delivery status.
•    Maintaining stakeholder relationships and creating strong collaboration between development, design, commercial, procurement and construction teams.
•    Maintaining strong project management discipline throughout delivery while ensuring Mace's safety, quality, and governance requirements are achieved.

You’ll need to have:
•    Relevant project management and construction industry experience, with significant experience in senior project leadership positions.
•    Demonstrable experience successfully delivering large-scale new-build residential developments of comparable size and complexity, ideally more than one major residential project.
•    Strong evidence of managing residential projects across the complete lifecycle from early design/pre-contract through procurement, construction, and handover.
•    Significant front-end and design management experience, with the ability to establish control of complex design programmes and drive multidisciplinary design teams against demanding milestones.
•    Strong understanding of residential development requirements and the relationship between development strategy, design, sales and marketing milestones, procurement and physical delivery.
•    Proven ability to manage and coordinate with architects, designers, engineering consultants, cost consultants, contractors and specialist stakeholders within complex project environments.
•    Strong programme management skills with experience identifying programme risk, challenging consultant performance and implementing recovery strategies.
•    Demonstrable procurement, contract, commercial, risk and change-management experience.
•    Strong client-facing and senior stakeholder-management capability, including the confidence to operate effectively within a high-profile project subject to significant executive scrutiny.
•    Experience delivering major projects within a PMC, client-side or development-management environment.
•    A degree in construction management, engineering, architecture, project management or a related discipline.
•    Professional membership such as RICS, CIOB, APM or equivalent would be advantageous, consistent with Mace's established SPM criteria. 
•    Previous experience delivering major residential developments in Saudi Arabia or the wider Middle East would be advantageous.

Our values

Safety first - Going home safe and well: We champion a safe, diverse and inclusive working environment, understanding the importance of wellbeing in every team.

Client focus - Deliver on our promise: We own the quality of deliverables, strategic outcomes and build long term relationships with our clients.

Integrity - Always do the right thing: We influence positive outcomes within our industry, while always aligning with our compliance obligations.

Create opportunity - For our people to excel : We champion a continuous improvement culture throughout all activities, inspiring our people and teams to develop.

Mace is an inclusive employer and welcomes interest from a diverse range of candidates. Even if you feel you do not fulfil all the criteria, please apply, as you may still be the best candidate for this role or another role within our organisation.

We are also open to discussing part-time, flexible, and hybrid working options if suitable within the role.

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