Senior Director - Playing Surfaces & landscaping

Qiddiya Investment Company is seeking a highly experienced Senior Director – Playing Surfaces & Landscaping to lead the strategy, design, delivery and long-term management of world-class playing surfaces and landscaped environments across Qiddiya’s growing Sports portfolio.

This is a highly technical leadership role covering major stadiums, training facilities, indoor and covered venues, competition and community pitches, public realm and extensive landscaped areas. The successful candidate will establish consistent technical and performance standards across natural, hybrid and synthetic playing surfaces, ensuring they meet the requirements of elite athletes, international competitions and major sporting events.

A key focus will be developing and maintaining premium-quality natural grass in Saudi Arabia’s challenging climate, including extreme heat, water constraints and the shaded or controlled conditions found within stadiums and indoor environments. The role will provide specialist input throughout design, construction, testing, commissioning and operations, ensuring every surface is safe, resilient, sustainable and operationally fit for purpose.

Key responsibilities will include

• Develop and lead the playing surfaces and landscaping strategy across Qiddiya’s Sports assets.
• Establish technical, operational and performance standards for stadiums, training facilities, indoor or covered venues and landscaped environments.
• Provide specialist input into venue design, ensuring roofing, shading, airflow, lighting, drainage, irrigation and operational requirements support optimum growing conditions.
• Lead the selection, design, construction and management of natural, hybrid and synthetic playing surfaces.
• Oversee pitch construction, turf establishment, testing, renovation, resurfacing and replacement programmes.
• Develop technical solutions for growing and maintaining elite sports turf in extreme heat, shaded stadiums and controlled indoor environments.
• Direct the design and performance of irrigation, drainage, soil profiles, root zones, grow-lighting and specialist turf-management systems.
• Establish agronomic and maintenance programmes covering grass selection, nutrition, moisture management, mowing, aeration, disease control and seasonal transition.
• Ensure playing surfaces meet the standards of relevant international sports federations and governing bodies.
• Develop pitch-protection, conversion and recovery plans to support demanding sporting and entertainment event schedules.
• Lead landscaping strategy across sports assets, including public realm, ornamental planting and climate-resilient landscape solutions.
• Manage commissioning and operational readiness, ensuring teams, equipment, materials, procedures and contingency plans are in place before venue opening.
• Build and lead multidisciplinary teams of grounds professionals, agronomists, landscapers, irrigation specialists, mechanics and technical staff.
• Oversee specialist suppliers, consultants and contractors, setting clear standards and performance measures.
• Manage capital and operational budgets, procurement strategies and lifecycle replacement plans.
• Drive sustainable practices through efficient water use, climate-appropriate planting, environmentally responsible materials and emerging turf technology.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, diploma or equivalent professional qualification in Sports Turf Management, Agronomy, Horticulture, Plant Science, Landscape Management or a related discipline.
• Extensive senior-level experience leading playing surface, sports turf and landscaping operations within major stadiums, professional sports organisations, international tournaments or large sports destinations.
• Proven experience delivering competition-standard playing surfaces for elite domestic and international sporting events.
• Deep technical knowledge of natural, hybrid and synthetic surfaces, turfgrass science, agronomy, irrigation, drainage, soil and root-zone construction, grow-lighting and specialist machinery.
• Demonstrable experience growing and maintaining high-performance natural grass in challenging climates or technically complex stadium environments.
• Experience working across stadiums, training facilities and indoor or covered venues with restricted sunlight, airflow or growing conditions.
• Strong experience supporting major venue projects through planning, design, construction, commissioning, handover and operations.
• Detailed understanding of how stadium architecture, roofing, shading, ventilation, lighting and event operations affect playing-surface performance.
• Experience managing significant landscaped estates, public realm or high-profile ornamental environments.
• Knowledge of international sports federation requirements and surface testing standards.
• Proven ability to lead large, multidisciplinary and multicultural teams while developing local technical capability.
• Strong commercial experience, including capital and operational budgets, procurement, contractor management and lifecycle planning.
• Ability to advise senior executives, designers, engineers, contractors and operational teams on complex technical matters.
• Professional certification or membership with a recognised international sports-turf, agronomy, grounds-management or horticultural body would be advantageous.
• Excellent communication, leadership and stakeholder-management skills