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.

Role Purpose

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.

Key Accountabilities

·       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, operations, and CDU cost planning stakeholders to support integrated delivery of larger and more complex General projects.

·       Apply cost planning software, benchmark data, quantity-based review methods, and relevant General development metrics to interrogate consultant outputs and strengthen cost confidence.

·       Represent the General BU in cost planning, governance, and executive forums, and provide clear recommendations to senior stakeholders on cost matters.

·       Promote consistent ways of working, technical quality, capability development, and continuous improvement across the General BU cost planning function.

Key Performance and Success Measures

·       Assigned projects and portfolios maintain a documented and current cost position, including key assumptions, risks, opportunities, interfaces, and cost movements.

·       Cost planning inputs for Stage Gate, procurement, investment, and other governance submissions are compliant with the Qiddiya Cost Planning Technical Guidelines and provided within required timeframes.

·       Consultant-produced cost plans are reviewed and challenged at key design and procurement stages, with clear recommendations, actions, and endorsement positions recorded.

·       Qiddiya cost planning resources assigned to the role are effectively managed, with clear priorities, consistent standards, and appropriate support for delivery and development.

·       Material cost movement, cost risk, and non-compliance issues are identified, assessed, and escalated to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner.

·       General benchmarking, market intelligence, and asset metrics are used effectively to support cost validation, option testing, and design-to-budget decisions.

·       Cost consultant appointments, governance, and mobilization are managed to ensure continuity and quality of cost planning support across major projects.

·       Stakeholder feedback reflects clear strategic communication, sound judgment, effective coordination, and strong leadership of cost planning activities and team resources.

Skills and Capability Profile

This role is aligned to the Director skill profile within the Qiddiya cost planning framework and has been tailored to the General Business Unit. The role is expected to demonstrate a mature and highly competent capability profile, operating at Advanced level across core leadership, governance, stakeholder, and commercial capabilities, with strong authority in selected technical disciplines required to oversee larger, more complex General-led developments, lead Qiddiya cost planning resources, and shape the Qiddiya cost position at project and portfolio level.

·       Collaboration: Builds alignment across General BU leadership, development, design, commercial, finance, procurement, workplace, and project teams to support integrated delivery of major and complex General developments.

·       Communication: Communicates complex cost positions, risk matters, and strategic choices clearly and credibly to senior stakeholders, governance forums, and cost consultants.

·       Governance: Leads cost governance at project and portfolio level, ensuring compliance, consistency, and decision-ready reporting for Stage Gate and executive approvals.

·       Influence: Exercises sound judgment and strong influence in challenging assumptions, driving alignment, and shaping investment and design decisions on complex projects.

·       Leadership: Leads consultant teams and Qiddiya cost planning resources across multiple projects, sets standards, drives accountability, manages capability development, and may directly manage Cost Planning Senior Managers and other team members within the BU.

·       Technical: Maintains and defends the Qiddiya cost position across major General developments; interprets project briefs, phasing, technical interfaces, and market conditions; and applies strong expertise in benchmarking, software-enabled review, and quantity-based validation to challenge consultant outputs.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience

·       Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Construction Economics, Commercial Management, or a related discipline.

·       Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in cost planning, quantity surveying, or estimating, including significant experience on major General, or mixed-use developments.

·       Demonstrated experience leading external cost consultants and reviewing consultant-produced cost plans across multiple design, procurement, and delivery stages.

·       Strong knowledge of cost planning governance, benchmarking, design-to-budget principles, phasing, risk and contingency management, inflation, escalation, and cost reporting.

·       Advanced proficiency in cost planning software and digital tools used to review, validate, and interrogate cost plans.

·       Professional membership with RICS, AIQS, or equivalent is preferred.

·       Experience operating within complex stakeholder environments, major governance frameworks, and executive decision-making settings is preferred.

Key Interfaces

·       General Business Unit leadership and project teams

·       Central Development Unit Cost Planning team, including Cost Planning Senior Managers and other assigned resources

·       Development Management General and Stage Gate stakeholders

·       Design management teams, workplace stakeholders, and design consultants

·       Commercial, procurement, finance, project management, and operations functions

·       Executive and project cost consultants