Director - Project Development (Capri) - Dubai Holding Hospitality Asset Management

About Dubai Holding Hospitality:

Dubai Holding Hospitality encompasses a diverse range of assets, including luxury hotels, resorts, and a full-service F&B portfolio. The company operates and manages several hotels, resorts, and residences across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, maintaining a reputation for unmatched luxury and service quality.

About the Job:

Market Research and Project Origination:

• Advise on demographic trends, economic forecasts and their implications for real estate, generally, and for the company’s business plan specifically.
• Prepare recommendations for the development rollout plan, including considerations for phasing, quantum, product, absorption, parcelization and infrastructure requirements.
• Guide the development potential assessments of parcels or districts, considering the site, context, regulations and market to provide recommendations for the highest and best use, as well as suitability for the company/its vertical business plan.
• Lead quantitative and qualitative research on relevant topics related to development strategy, including new product types or operating models, alternate positioning strategies, etc. 

Define Development Briefs:

• Define the project positioning and unique selling points for a master community, its neighbourhoods and the parcels.
• Guide teams in defining the development statistics targets, identifying overall sellable / leasable areas, gross floor areas, built-up areas, and asset master data (BUA, SA, GFA and asset potions ect)  , asset class split, parking requirements and other relevant data.
• Guide teams in defining the characteristics of the revenue drivers (ex. unit size and mix, tenant size and mix, etc.) and related spatial requirements.
• Define the roll-out plan for a master community or portfolio of projects, balancing funding, product type release, absorption, and other logistical considerations.
• Define the major programme milestones and associated timeframes for portfolios.
• Coordinate with the other departments and design managers to identify key infrastructure, engineering, delivery or statutory considerations.

Define Asset and District Budgets:

• Lead conducting independent analysis and coordinate with the relevant consultants for a robust set of cost benchmarks to ensure suitability of targets for individual assets and site-wide roads, infrastructure and public realm components.
• Guide teams in defining project development budgets, including the total development costs, and relevant breakdowns of hard and soft costs.
• Define the site-wide infrastructure budget and guide the individual budgets for the respective components of this

Feasibility and Financial Analysis:

• Guide teams in preliminary feasibility analysis, incorporating initial revenue and cost projections to identify indicative profitability, along with relevant ad hoc calculations suited to the specific characteristics of the project.
• Guide teams in preparing frequent, high-level return on investment calculations to model and evaluate the benefits of various product or design considerations within projects.
• Guide teams in preparing quantitative research on various topics, often using proxy data on related topics to identify and compare outcomes and probabilities across different scenarios.
• Guide teams in on construction phasing, stabilization / absorption rates, operating performance and escalations, along with financing assumptions related to multi-period discounted cash flow analysis.
• Guide teams in preparing expected value calculations using scenario analysis to advise on key product design decisions.
• Advise on investment memos for review by executive management, including descriptions of and advisory on market analysis and implications, funding structures, cashflow proformas, investment analysis, and risk and sensitivity analysis.
• Advise on capital structures for investment projects and coordinate with the Finance department on a final set of recommendations for project financing.

Asset Positioning:

• Provide oversight on the recommended primary and secondary target audiences and confirm key product criteria associated with the demographics.
• Guide the strategic positioning of marketing collateral, including all required materials for the project launch (ex. unit plans, lease outline drawings, renderings, supplementary graphics and physical models). 

Partnerships:

• Guide the assessment of strategic business partnerships for 3rd party development of individual plots or larger land parcels.
• Guide the assessment of business development opportunities related to development products, including components within typical products (ex. residential, commercial, retail), or as specialty products (ex. entertainment, sports / fitness, etc.).
• Approach and negotiate with investment partners or operators, as appropriate, to support the funding, business model or delivery of projects.

Development & Design Management (Product-Focused):

• Define detailed product briefs for master communities and associated components.
• Guide and review detailed assessments of plots, including evaluations of the physical characteristics, location and context, highest and best use, suitability for the company’s/its vertical business plan, etc.
• Coordinate with the design manager to define a set of detailed infrastructure, engineering, delivery or statutory considerations to be included in the design briefs for master communities and associated components.
• Lead the Capri Observatory project through design stages in Dubai, ensuring the project vision, design intent, technical requirements, budget and programme are fully aligned.
• Coordinate architects, designers, engineers, specialist consultants and internal stakeholders to develop and close out design deliverables, approvals and key decisions.
• Support procurement strategy, tendering, contractor appointment and contract set-up to ensure the project is positioned for successful delivery in Capri.
• Manage the transition from design to construction, ensuring all design information, specifications, authorities requirements and delivery responsibilities are clearly defined.
• Provide hands-on construction oversight in Capri, coordinating with the contractor and site team on day-to-day progress, quality, cost, programme, risks and issue resolution.
• Prepare clear progress updates, decision papers and escalation reports for the ED, Development Maldives and executive stakeholders.

Complete Research on Product Types and Characteristics:

• Define the key priorities for city-based research topics (ex. smart city technologies, advanced mobility, sustainability, thermal comfort, public realm and art, etc.) and guide approach to research.
• Define the key priorities for city-based research topics (ex. smart living technologies, alternative parking strategies, amenities, urban farming, and other features) and guide approach to research.
• Lead the development and/or refinement of key departmental systems, including project resources, design guidelines, standards, templates, processes and procedures, reporting documentation and other resources.

Project Schedule and Progress Reporting:

• Advise on detailed project schedules related to major work streams, notable milestones, and the statutory authority approval process.
• Guide teams on preparing shorter duration project roadmaps highlighting the key milestones and tasks to guide the progress of the project over a smaller portion of the project lifecycle (ex. 90-day periods).
• Prepare regular progress reports highlighting the status of the community and suitable for review by executive leadership.

Contract and Commercial Management:

• Advise on various contractual matters, as appropriate, including the form of agreement, insurance and liability requirements, professional registration and other qualification requirements, submission requirements, etc.
• Guide teams on the day-to-day contract and commercial management of projects, coordinating with the consultant(s) to ensure the projects are designed to budget, as well as completeness of submissions, evaluation, approvals and recommendations on invoices and related contractual issues
• Manage contractor performance on a day-to-day basis, including workmanship quality, site progress, cost control, variations, claims, payment recommendations, safety coordination and timely resolution of construction issues.
• Define the Procurement Strategy and Manage the Process
• Advise and define the recommended approach to pre-contract procurement strategy (ex. competition, commissioned, etc.) and provide considerations for post-contract procurement models (ex. traditional, design-build, framework agreements, etc.).
• Pre-qualify, recommend and assess consultants for real estate advisory, architecture, engineering and various other design and pre-contract services, including technical advisory on the consultant RFP responses.
• Prepare all relevant RFP documents, including detailed scopes of work, services, deliverables and time schedules

About You:

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in real estate, business, architecture, civil engineering or similar.
• Fluent in English, Arabic is a plus.
• Minimum 10-12 years’ experience in development and delivery management roles, preferably with leading developers.
• Hands-on contractor and construction management experience, including day-to-day site coordination, quality, cost, programme and commercial management.
• Experience in hospitality, destination, luxury residential, cultural or landmark projects is preferred
• Strong knowledge of end-to-end development and delivery management, from design brief and consultant coordination through procurement, construction and handover.
• Hands-on understanding of contractor management, site coordination, quality assurance, cost control, programme tracking, variations and claims management.
• Comprehensive understanding of architecture, engineering, interiors, landscape, statutory approvals and construction sequencing.
• Ability to manage multi-location workflows, including design-stage coordination in Dubai and construction-stage management in Capri.
• Ability to prepare clear executive reports, decision papers, cost updates, risk logs and programme dashboards.
• Proficiency in MS Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with project management tools is preferred.

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.