Director - Infrastructure Design - Dubai Holding Land Estates

About Dubai Holding Land Estates:

Dubai Holding Land Estates oversees a diverse land portfolio strategically located across Dubai’s most sought-after areas. With convenient access to major highways, nearby amenities, and flexible land use options, investors are presented with unique opportunities for development and growth.

Through the centralization of Dubai Holding’s land bank, Dubai Holding Land Estates focuses on large-scale master plans, ensuring alignment with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, whilst also supporting the business’s commitment to sustainable urban development and strategic land portfolio management.

About the Role:

Infrastructure Strategy for Master Developments

• Support and contribute to the development and implementation of infrastructure strategy and phasing for each master development, under the direction of the Vice President, translating masterplan vision into deliverable Dry Utilities, Wet Utilities, Traffic Engineering, Marine Engineering, and Landscape concepts.
• Drive the technical assessment and integration of future-ready infrastructure technologies, including smart utility systems, sustainable water and energy solutions, and international best practices, ensuring alignment with approved project objectives and infrastructure strategies.
• Coordinate and oversee the planning and design development process to ensure infrastructure proposals comply with applicable Dubai/UAE regulatory requirements, authority standards, and approval frameworks, supporting successful endorsement by RTA, DEWA, Dubai Municipality, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Lead the preparation, management, and technical review of infrastructure design briefs, consultant scopes, and concept-stage deliverables, ensuring consistency with approved development objectives, technical standards, project timelines, and authority approval requirements for Vice President endorsement.
• Manage the technical review and coordination of infrastructure-related submissions across the portfolio, including Value Added Services (VAS), masterplan amendments, and development change requests, providing recommendations to the Vice President and facilitating timely stakeholder alignment and approvals.

Coordinate Across Verticals 

• Lead day-to-day coordination with other Dubai Holding verticals (e.g. DHRE, DHI, DHAM) to assess infrastructure requirements, technical risks, capacity constraints, and delivery opportunities at each masterplan stage gate, escalating strategic matters to the Vice President.
• “Ring-fence” agreed infrastructure strategies for final alignment with the Vice-President.

Infrastructure CAPEX Budgets

• Coordinate the preparation of annual CAPEX infrastructure budgets for projects across the DHLE portfolio, working closely with the Developments Teams and the Cost Estimation Team to consolidate estimates for Vice President review and wider business alignment.
• Manage the budget submission and review cycle, preparing consolidated infrastructure budgets, cost drivers, and variance explanations for presentation by, or jointly with, the Vice President for wider alignment with DHLE Development Leads prior to submission to DHLE leadership.
• Track major infrastructure costs deviation from plan for wider alignment on required mitigations plans.

Infrastructure Design Management & Integrated Planning

• Lead the coordinated planning, design management, and integration of all infrastructure disciplines, including Dry Utilities, Wet Utilities, Transportation, Marine Engineering, and Landscape, ensuring alignment with the masterplan vision, development objectives, phasing strategy, and commercial requirements across the DHLE portfolio.
• Direct the review and integration of multidisciplinary infrastructure concepts, working closely with Infrastructure Team Leads to optimize utility networks, transportation systems, rights-of-way, utility plots, marine assets, and public realm components into a cohesive development framework.
• Ensure infrastructure requirements, capacities, corridors, and servicing strategies are appropriately incorporated into master planning decisions, land use planning, plot allocations, and development change requests, while maintaining compliance with authority requirements and industry best practices.
• Lead the technical coordination of infrastructure-related submissions, approvals, and stakeholder engagements with consultants, utility providers, and government authorities, proactively identifying risks, resolving interface issues, and escalating matters requiring executive attention.
• Contribute to the value engineering and optimization initiatives throughout the planning and design lifecycle, challenging infrastructure solutions to maximize efficiency, reduce CAPEX, and safeguard the long-term commercial and operational objectives of DHLE developments.

Cross-Discipline Delivery Oversight

• Drive the development, review, and approval of master plans, infrastructure modifications, land use changes, and GFA alterations across all five disciplines.
• Coordinate with other Dubai Holding verticals (e.g. DHRE) through every project phase, aligning infrastructure design and delivery with masterplan vision and rollout objectives.
• Oversee, through close coordination with IT and Landbank GIS Teams, that as-built infrastructure database is aligned to approved and constructed communities, and ensure as-builts are reconciled with GIS systems and utility company records.

Authorities Relations

• Coordinate with the Authorities Relations function, building and maintaining strategic relationships with government authorities and utility entities including RTA, DEWA, and DM.
• Implement streamlined approval frameworks with regulatory bodies, resolve day-to-day approval matters, and prepare complex issues for escalation by the Vice President.
• Prepare and coordinate high-level communications on DHLE’s requests for masterplan approvals, modifications, land use changes, and infrastructure NOCs, supporting the Vice President in senior authority engagements.
• Maintain SOS and masterplan approval trackers, and proactively flag approval risks and delays to stakeholders.

Frameworks, Governance and Systems

• Establish and maintain frameworks, processes, and governance mechanisms for managing infrastructure planning activities, approvals, studies, and stakeholder interfaces across the DHLE portfolio.
• Coordinate resource planning and workload prioritisation across the infrastructure disciplines, ensuring effective support to project and master development teams.
• Promote consistency in infrastructure planning and design by coordinating with Dubai Holding business units, consultants, and authorities to ensure compliance with applicable standards, regulations, and best practices.

Continuous Improvement

• Benchmark Dubai Holding’s infrastructure practices against global master-development leaders and recommend improvement opportunities to the Vice President.
• Manage innovation initiatives introducing infrastructure solutions and sustainable technologies, in partnership with other Dubai Holding verticals and under the strategic direction of the Vice President.
• Lead implementation of digital improvements to infrastructure management processes, systems, efficiency, and data visibility, aligned with the Vice President’s digital transformation priorities.

People Management 

• Manage the day-to-day activities of the multidisciplinary infrastructure teams and act for the Vice President during delegated absences.
• Support the Vice President in building and maintaining a dedicated infrastructure planning team that provides DHLE with internal capability and a coordinated point of contact.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration and knowledge-sharing across teams and disciplines.

About You:

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Management or related technical field required or a related field from a recognized institution, Master’s degree is preferred
• Minimum 15 years of experience in infrastructure development and project delivery for large-scale developments, preferably within a master-developer environment
• At least 10 years in senior leadership positions managing multi-disciplinary infrastructure teams and complex project portfolios
• Demonstrated success managing infrastructure planning and implementation for major master-planned communities, preferably within the UAE or GCC
• Proven track record collaborating with top-tier developers 
• Extensive experience interfacing with UAE or GCC government authorities and regulatory bodies
• Strong background in managing technical consultant relationships and large-scale infrastructure contracts
• Master infrastructure planning across multi-utility disciplines
• Infrastructure capital budgeting and cost estimation
• Ability to prepare strong technical documentation to represent DHLE's interests to authorities, consultants, and internal leadership
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams under time pressure 
• Management of third-party developer interfaces 
• Strong written and verbal communication in English; Arabic an advantage

About the Benefits:

At Dubai Holding, we're committed to nurturing the success and well-being of our colleagues. Join our dynamic and diverse team, and enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes competitive compensation, career development opportunities, and a collaborative work environment. We strongly believe in creating an empowered workforce that will help us build a connected city for tomorrow. We are committed to attracting the brightest minds and nurturing the most pioneering candidates who desire to make a great impact on the future of Dubai.