Director, Public Realm Event Operations

Role Purpose The Director, Public Realm Event Operations is the second-in-charge to the Executive Director, Public Realm Event Operations and leads the planning, readiness and delivery of City Operations support services for events within Qiddiya City’s public realm. The front-of-house event operator retains accountability for the event itself, including the event programme, venue operations and the guest experience within the event or venue footprint. This role ensures that public realm services, temporary infrastructure and operational partners are coordinated to support safe event delivery while maintaining effective and continuous City Operations. Acting on behalf of the Executive Director when formally delegated, the Senior Director leads cross-functional coordination, drives decisions within agreed authority, escalates matters requiring Executive Director approval, and provides operational assurance from early planning through live event delivery, demobilisation and post-event review. Key Responsibilities Deputy Leadership and Direction - Act as the principal deputy to the Executive Director, Public Realm Event Operations, providing continuity of leadership and representing the function in delegated forums, workshops and operational decision-making bodies. - Support the Executive Director in defining the Public Realm Event Operations operating model, priorities, annual programme and resource plan, converting strategic direction into clear workstreams, accountabilities and delivery milestones. - Lead, coach and coordinate assigned Public Realm Event Operations team members and consultants, setting expectations, monitoring performance against agreed deliverables and resolving delivery constraints. - Prepare concise executive briefings, recommendations and decision papers on readiness, risks, dependencies, budget and operational performance. Public Realm Event Operations Planning - Lead the development and integration of public realm event operations plans for city-wide and district-level activity, covering waste and cleansing, public realm readiness, temporary structures, wayfinding and signage, guest services, accessibility, security interfaces, emergency interfaces, welfare, logistics and event support services. - Establish event-specific concepts of operations, operating procedures, deployment plans, service schedules, resource assumptions, zone plans and escalation protocols appropriate to event scale and risk. - Ensure plans address the complete event lifecycle, including build-up, testing, event days, transition between sessions or events, breakdown, reinstatement and close-out. - Maintain clear scope boundaries between City Operations and asset or venue operators. Coordinate city-side interfaces and dependencies without assuming responsibility for the direct operation of venues or individual assets. Integrated City Coordination and Governance - Coordinate planning across City Operations, districts, venues and assets, mobility, security, emergency services, technology and telecommunications, facilities management, public realm, utilities, guest experience, commercial, procurement and external stakeholders. - Establish and manage governance routines, integrated planning workshops, action trackers, decision logs, interface registers and reporting cycles that support timely closure of cross-functional issues. - Confirm ownership of interfaces and hand-offs between permanent city operations, temporary event overlays, venue operations and third-party delivery partners. - Escalate material decisions, unresolved dependencies and changes in scope to the Executive Director with clear options and recommended actions. Readiness, Assurance and Risk Management - Develop and manage an integrated operational readiness framework, including readiness criteria, evidence requirements, assurance reviews, testing, rehearsals, simulations, inspections and go or no-go recommendations. - Manage the consolidated Public Realm Event Operations risk, issue, dependency and opportunity process for assigned events on behalf of the Executive Director, ensuring accountable owners, mitigations, due dates and escalation thresholds are defined. - Challenge plans for practicality, capacity, resilience, accessibility, guest impact, health and safety, security, environmental performance and continuity of essential city services. - Ensure lessons from exercises, previous events, benchmarking and post-event reviews are incorporated into revised plans and standards. Live Event Delivery and Command - Provide senior operational leadership during event periods and, when delegated, lead the city-side event operations function within the agreed command, control and communication structure. - Coordinate public realm operational deployment, monitor service performance and city conditions, resolve cross-functional issues and maintain an accurate common operating picture for leadership. - Ensure incidents, service failures and emerging risks are l

Deputy Leadership and Direction: Act as the principal deputy to the Executive Director, Public Realm Event Operations, providing continuity of leadership and representing the function in delegated forums, workshops and operational decision-making bodies. Support the Executive Director in defining the Public Realm Event Operations operating model, priorities, annual programme and resource plan, converting strategic direction into clear workstreams, accountabilities and delivery milestones. Lead, coach and coordinate assigned Public Realm Event Operations team members and consultants, setting expectations, monitoring performance against agreed deliverables and resolving delivery constraints. Prepare concise executive briefings, recommendations and decision papers on readiness, risks, dependencies, budget and operational performance.\nPublic Realm Event Operations Planning: Lead the development and integration of public realm event operations plans for city-wide and district-level activity, covering waste and cleansing, public realm readiness, temporary structures, wayfinding and signage, guest services, accessibility, security interfaces, emergency interfaces, welfare, logistics and event support services. Establish event-specific concepts of operations, operating procedures, deployment plans, service schedules, resource assumptions, zone plans and escalation protocols appropriate to event scale and risk. Ensure plans address the complete event lifecycle, including build-up, testing, event days, transition between sessions or events, breakdown, reinstatement and close-out. Maintain clear scope boundaries between City Operations and asset or venue operators. Coordinate city-side interfaces and dependencies without assuming responsibility for the direct operation of venues or individual assets.\nIntegrated City Coordination and Governance: Coordinate planning across City Operations, districts, venues and assets, mobility, security, emergency services, technology and telecommunications, facilities management, public realm, utilities, guest experience, commercial, procurement and external stakeholders. Establish and manage governance routines, integrated planning workshops, action trackers, decision logs, interface registers and reporting cycles that support timely closure of cross-functional issues. Confirm ownership of interfaces and hand-offs between permanent city operations, temporary event overlays, venue operations and third-party delivery partners. Escalate material decisions, unresolved dependencies and changes in scope to the Executive Director with clear options and recommended actions.\nReadiness, Assurance and Risk Management: Develop and manage an integrated operational readiness framework, including readiness criteria, evidence requirements, assurance reviews, testing, rehearsals, simulations, inspections and go or no-go recommendations. Manage the consolidated Public Realm Event Operations risk, issue, dependency and opportunity process for assigned events on behalf of the Executive Director, ensuring accountable owners, mitigations, due dates and escalation thresholds are defined. Challenge plans for practicality, capacity, resilience, accessibility, guest impact, health and safety, security, environmental performance and continuity of essential city services. Ensure lessons from exercises, previous events, benchmarking and post-event reviews are incorporated into revised plans and standards.\nLive Event Delivery and Command: Provide senior operational leadership during event periods and, when delegated, lead the city-side event operations function within the agreed command, control and communication structure. Coordinate public realm operational deployment, monitor service performance and city conditions, resolve cross-functional issues and maintain an accurate common operating picture for leadership. Ensure incidents, service failures and emerging risks are addressed decisively and escalated when necessary.