Director of Special Events

Role overview • 14-month contract, with a possible extension of up to 3 months • Based in Riyadh • Full-time and exclusive for the duration • Start date: late October 2026 We are hiring a hands-on Senior Masterplan Director for a major retained events programme in Saudi Arabia. This is a producing role, not an oversight one. You’ll turn event strategy into buildable masterplans yourself, and you’ll lead a 29-person Masterplan team. The ideal candidate combines strategic vision with strong technical masterplanning expertise and a proven track record of delivering major events, multi-venue developments or similarly complex environments. What you’ll do • Lead the 29-person retained Masterplan team and be the single point of accountability to the client for its output and continuity • Personally produce masterplans covering venue footprint, zoning, infrastructure, resources, timelines and visitor journeys • Turn high-level strategic direction into a full implementation plan for each event cycle • Run needs assessments and feasibility studies, and benchmark against comparable global events • Allocate design, drafting and F&B requests across the team, and keep work moving when people are redeployed • Act as a trusted advisor to the client’s Masterplan leadership on progress, strategy and opportunities What you’ll bring • 12+ years of relevant hands-on experience in event, venue or overlay masterplanning • At least two complete mega-event or multi-venue delivery cycles • A portfolio of dimensioned masterplans, zoning and visitor journeys you produced yourself • Experience leading an embedded client team while still delivering hands-on work • Professional English Nice to have • Esports, mega-sport or multi-venue festival masterplanning • Saudi or GCC delivery experience • Arabic Experience in one or more of the following would be highly relevant: - International mega-events and major sporting events. - Esports events and large-scale gaming competitions. - Multi-venue festivals and complex live-event environments. - Large-scale temporary venues and event infrastructure. - Projects involving multiple stakeholders, challenging site constraints and demanding delivery timelines. Interested? If you have personally developed and delivered masterplans for complex, large-scale events or multi-venue environments, we would be keen to hear from you. Apply directly or get in touch to discuss the opportunity. Show more Show less

12+ years of relevant hands-on experience in event, venue or overlay masterplanning; At least two complete mega-event or multi-venue delivery cycles; A portfolio of dimensioned masterplans, zoning and visitor journeys you produced yourself; Experience leading an embedded client team while still delivering hands-on work; Professional English

Lead the 29-person retained Masterplan team and be the single point of accountability to the client for its output and continuity; Personally produce masterplans covering venue footprint, zoning, infrastructure, resources, timelines and visitor journeys; Turn high-level strategic direction into a full implementation plan for each event cycle; Run needs assessments and feasibility studies, and benchmark against comparable global events; Allocate design, drafting and F&B requests across the team, and keep work moving when people are redeployed; Act as a trusted advisor to the client’s Masterplan leadership on progress, strategy and opportunities