Director - Cost Planning

The Director, Cost Planning – General Business Unit is responsible for leading cost planning across major General, commercial, and mixed-use General‑led developments within the General Business Unit. The role is accountable for setting and maintaining the Qiddiya cost position across a portfolio of larger, more complex projects, guiding strategic design‑to‑budget decisions, supporting executive and Stage Gate approvals, and ensuring that cost planning is integrated into business and project decision‑making.

In accordance with the Qiddiya Cost Planning Technical Guidelines
, the role directs, reviews, and challenges the work of external cost consultants and internal project teams. The role may also be responsible for managing Qiddiya cost planning resources, including Cost Planning Senior Managers and other cost planning team members, to ensure appropriate leadership, capability development, and delivery oversight. While detailed cost planning may be prepared by cost consultants, Qiddiya cost planners remain accountable for defining requirements, assuring compliance, validating outputs, and recommending the cost position for endorsement and approval.

To lead cost planning activities for the General Business Unit across assigned portfolios, programs, and major projects, ensuring consistent application of the Qiddiya Cost Planning Technical Guidelines, effective leadership of cost consultants, robust cost governance, and high-quality strategic cost advice to support project, business, procurement, and Stage Gate decision‑making.

• Lead cost planning activities across major General BU projects and portfolios, ensuring alignment with approved budgets, strategic objectives, benchmarks, cost drivers, risks, and opportunities.
• Direct the appointment, mobilization, governance, and performance management of executive and project cost consultants in accordance with the Qiddiya Cost Planning Technical Guidelines and agreed scopes of service.
• Provide leadership, oversight, and, where applicable, line management for Qiddiya cost planning resources assigned to the General Business Unit, including Cost Planning Senior Managers and other team members.
• Support capability development, workload prioritization, performance management, and consistent ways of working across assigned Qiddiya cost planning resources.
• Establish requirements for consultant deliverables, methodologies, reporting standards, cost planning assumptions, and level of detail to ensure consistency with Qiddiya governance, procurement, and project stage requirements.
• Review, validate, and challenge consultant cost plans, reconciliations, benchmarks, escalation assumptions, risk allowances, phasing strategies, and design‑to‑budget recommendations before endorsing the Qiddiya cost position.
• Provide senior cost planning assurance for Stage Gate submissions, investment decisions, procurement strategies, and other governance approvals, ensuring that cost information is complete, accurate, and decision‑ready.
• Maintain a current, defensible, and evidence‑based cost position across assigned projects and portfolios, including key assumptions, cost movement, risks, opportunities, interfaces, and areas of uncertainty.
• Lead strategic design‑to‑budget decision‑making by identifying major cost drivers, testing development and design options, and advising on the cost implications of scope, specification, phasing, and area changes.
• Provide early‑stage and portfolio‑level cost advice where required prior to consultant appointment or during business planning, using approved benchmarks, market intelligence, and Qiddiya methodologies.
• Work closely with development, design, commercial, finance, procurement, project management, workplace, and CDU…