Programme Manager

ROLE CONTEXT

Global Group Corp. and the wider Group are involved in the coordination and delivery of major international urban development, infrastructure, engineering and masterplanning programmes. The work can include new city development, strategic and regional planning, urban regeneration, major mixed-use development and infrastructure-led growth, with inputs from government authorities, municipalities, planners, engineers, economists, transport specialists, survey and geospatial teams and other technical advisers.

The scale of the Group's work can include planning areas exceeding 10,000 hectares / 100 km², long-term growth planning for populations in the hundreds of thousands and major development and infrastructure requirements across large geographic areas. The role will support the wider Group portfolio and may be deployed across different projects, business units and geographies in response to programme requirements.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Urban Planner will provide senior client-side planning support across assigned Group programmes. The role will help define and review planning briefs, coordinate multidisciplinary inputs, review consultant proposals and provide the Group with an informed view of the planning logic, assumptions, dependencies and decisions required to progress complex urban development programmes.

This is a hands-on project delivery role rather than a design appointment. The successful candidate will be expected to review and challenge planning outputs, coordinate interfaces between planning and other disciplines, prepare clear advice for project leadership and support discussions with clients, government bodies, authorities and consultant teams. The role is intended to strengthen the Group's own planning capability while maintaining clear responsibility boundaries with appointed masterplanning and technical consultants.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

· Provide senior urban planning support across assigned international masterplanning, new city, regeneration, infrastructure and development programmes.

· Review consultant planning and masterplanning outputs on behalf of the Group, checking alignment with the agreed brief, available evidence, programme requirements and client objectives.

· Support the preparation and clarification of strategic planning briefs, development briefs, spatial requirements, study boundaries, planning assumptions and key deliverable requirements.

· Review strategic planning frameworks, masterplans, land-use strategies, spatial options, development frameworks, district plans and detailed planning packages.

· Coordinate planning interfaces across land use, housing, employment, commercial and mixed-use development, transport, infrastructure, utilities, environment, landscape, public realm, heritage and social infrastructure.

· Review how population, demographic, economic and market assumptions are reflected in land-use requirements, development capacity, density, phasing and supporting infrastructure.

· Interrogate baseline information and data gaps, including GIS, mapping, aerial and ground surveys, existing plans, development pipelines, population data, infrastructure information and other spatial evidence.

· Support progression from baseline analysis and strategic vision through scenario testing, preferred spatial options, masterplanning, development briefs and implementation-focused planning packages.

· Review the relationship between urban growth and strategic infrastructure, including transport networks, public transport, utilities, water, drainage, energy, regional connectivity and other enabling works.

· Coordinate planning inputs with economic, investment and development analysis so that spatial proposals reflect realistic growth assumptions, development demand, infrastructure requirements and phasing.

· Identify planning dependencies, required client decisions and missing information, including where work can continue using agreed assumptions, progressive information releases or parallel activities.

· Coordinate and consolidate Group and client comments on planning deliverables, helping ensure consultant teams receive clear, prioritised and non-conflicting instructions.

· Prepare planning review notes, options papers, issue summaries, decision papers, comment matrices, dashboards and presentation material for project leadership and senior stakeholders.

· Support planning workshops, technical reviews and presentations with clients, government bodies, ministries, municipalities, authorities, consultants and other strategic stakeholders.

· Review proposed land-use mix, development density, movement hierarchy, accessibility, public transport integration, open space, public realm and community or social infrastructure requirements.

· Support the preparation and review of strategic development areas and development briefs, including land use, density, access, infrastructure requirements, phasing and delivery considerations.

· Provide planning input to programme, investment, funding and implementation discussions where spatial strategy, land use, infrastructure sequencing or development phasing affects delivery.

· Maintain clear records of planning assumptions, comments, decisions, dependencies and outstanding client inputs in coordination with programme and information-management processes.

· Support the development of repeatable Group planning review procedures, templates and governance arrangements for future programmes.

PLANNING SCALE AND TECHNICAL REVIEW

· Planning and masterplanning areas that can exceed 10,000 hectares / 100 km².

· Long-term urban growth programmes intended to accommodate populations in the hundreds of thousands.

· City-scale and regional work involving major mixed-use, residential, commercial, administrative, employment and strategic development areas.

· Strategic infrastructure and development interfaces across large geographic areas, including transport, utilities and enabling infrastructure.

· Multidisciplinary programmes combining planning, economics, transport, infrastructure, utilities, environment, GIS, survey, architecture, engineering and programme management.

· Government-led and authority-led programmes involving multiple ministries, municipalities, agencies and technical stakeholders.

KEY INTERFACES

· Group project and programme leadership.

· Clients, government bodies, ministries, municipalities and planning or development authorities.

· Lead masterplanners, urban planners, architects and urban designers.

· Transport, mobility, infrastructure, utilities and engineering consultants.

· Economics, investment, development and commercial advisers.

· GIS, geospatial, aerial survey, mapping and data specialists.

· Environmental, landscape, heritage and social infrastructure specialists.

· Project controls, programme management, information management and document control teams.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

· Minimum 15+ years' professional experience in urban planning, town planning, strategic masterplanning, new city development, urban regeneration or infrastructure-led development.

· Significant international project experience, specifically within the Middle East and North Africa.

· Experience working on city-scale or regional programmes covering thousands of hectares, with direct exposure to large-scale land-use planning and long-term urban growth.

· Experience preparing, coordinating or reviewing strategic plans, masterplans, land-use strategies, development frameworks, district plans or detailed planning packages.

· Experience of new city, major mixed-use, regeneration and/or government-led development programmes.

· Strong experience working across multidisciplinary consultant teams and coordinating planning with transport, infrastructure, utilities, economics, GIS, survey and other technical inputs.

· Ability to interpret complex technical and spatial information and understand how infrastructure, demographic, economic and delivery constraints affect planning decisions.

· Experience reviewing consultant work from a client-side, authority-side, programme-management or senior advisory position.

· Experience engaging with senior clients, government bodies, municipalities, authorities and technical stakeholders on major planning or development programmes.

· Strong written communication and presentation skills, with the ability to prepare concise planning advice, review comments, briefing papers and decision material.

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

· Experience working on programmes with planning areas exceeding 10,000 hectares or equivalent city-scale development programmes.

· Experience of long-term population growth planning, major housing and employment programmes, or strategic urban expansion.

· Experience in Gulf, North African or wider regional planning systems, government structures and development environments.

· Experience working on strategic transport, infrastructure or utilities-led masterplanning programmes.

· Experience of development economics, investment planning, development phasing or implementation strategy as they relate to urban planning.

· Experience working with bilingual or multilingual project teams. Arabic language capability would be advantageous but is not essential.

QUALIFICATIONS

· Degree or postgraduate qualification in town planning, urban planning, spatial planning, urban design, architecture, geography or a closely related discipline.

· Chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) or an equivalent recognised professional planning body is preferred.

· Strong working knowledge of GIS and spatial data is expected; advanced GIS production capability is beneficial but not essential.

CORE COMPETENCIES

· Strong understanding of strategic planning and masterplanning at city and regional scale.

· Able to review consultant work critically and constructively without unnecessarily duplicating the consultant design role.

· Able to connect land-use planning with infrastructure, transport, economics, development phasing and implementation requirements.

· Confident working with incomplete or evolving information and able to identify what genuinely prevents progress and what can proceed in parallel.

· Comfortable operating within complex international and government-led stakeholder environments.

· Clear and concise communicator, capable of explaining complex planning matters to senior stakeholders who may not be planners.

· Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple planning workstreams, comments, dependencies and decisions.

· Commercial and programme awareness, including an understanding of how planning decisions can affect infrastructure sequencing, investment, programme and delivery risk.

· Culturally aware, adaptable and comfortable working across international teams and jurisdictions.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS

· The Group has a clear and independent understanding of the planning logic, assumptions, risks, dependencies and decisions within major consultant proposals.

· Planning briefs and review comments are clear, coordinated and aligned with client objectives before issue to consultant teams.

· Planning, survey, GIS, economic, transport and infrastructure workstreams are coordinated and key interfaces are identified early.

· Planning decisions and required client inputs are visible early enough to support the programme and reduce avoidable redesign or delay.

· Major masterplanning proposals can be explained clearly to senior stakeholders in terms of scale, land use, infrastructure, phasing and implementation requirements.

· The Group develops stronger internal planning capability while maintaining clear accountability with appointed planning and technical consultants.

ROLE FLEXIBILITY

The role is intended to support the wider Group portfolio and is not limited to a single project, geography or business unit. Responsibilities may evolve in line with programme requirements, future commissions and the continued development of the Group's international project delivery capability.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Global Group Corp. is committed to providing equal opportunities and to creating an inclusive working environment. Recruitment decisions will be based on the requirements of the role, relevant experience, qualifications and capability.

Pay: £30,000.00-£45,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person