About the Employer:

Setec is one of the world’s leaders in multidisciplinary engineering; an independent group owned by its engineers who rely on their talent, passion, and know-how. Over the last 60 years, Setec has gained an international reputation for services excellence, with a workforce of over 4 000 multidisciplinary specialists throughout the world.

Setec has prestigious references for a wide range of fields that cover infrastructure, transport, water engineering, energy efficient buildings, industrial installations, and project management consultancy services. Playing a role on some of the largest current design & construction projects worldwide, the group’s engineers take on challenges in real estate development by bringing value to the projects they engage.

General Summary

The International Urban Codes Expert is responsible for compliance review of third-party real estate development submissions against Client provided regional urban development directives, guidelines and codes including but not limited to high-level planning and development guidelines pertaining to municipal and/or regional land-use systems, density configurations, urban patterns and urban character elements, as well as regulations, guidelines and codes affecting plot development, GFA, FAR, massing, densities, setbacks, buffer zones, public spaces, pedestrian pathways, public realm, soft and hard landscaping, view corridors, signage as well as government identified development incentives.

The scope of the International Urban Codes Expert’s responsibility also includes advisory duties (including the drafting of proposed regulatory amendments) related to how and to what extent the regional-wide and/or municipal-wide development framework (directives, guidelines, and codes) are sufficient to the third-party submittal preparation process and deliverables.

Key Responsibilities

• Third-party submittal review and the code compliance certification process, including code review checklists, reports, and QA/QC in the context of broader land use and site planning aspects considering the entire development site.
• Assist the development of technical compliance review execution requirements by means of constructive feedback.
• Coordinate the Codes review work with other team members.
• Prepare code amendment recommendations to the regional and/or municipal authorities based on regional knowledge and international best practices.
• Communicate work status.

Experience & Diploma :

Minimum 15 Years post-graduate

Master of Science in a subject directly related to urban guides/regulations/codes.

Bachelor of Science Architectural Design or Engineering.

• GCC experience, especially KSA.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in urban infrastructure to help guide the growth and development of communities.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in developing the design of public spaces (streets, squares, parks, etc.) and the relationship between built form and public spaces.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in design and implementation of land development strategies and helping communities decide how best to use their land and resources by keeping in mind their future growth and revitalization.
• Knowledgeable of sustainability principles in urban guides, regulations, and codes.

About the Design Studios Commission:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision is an ambitious quality-of-life program dedicated to the improvement of the urban fabric, elevating the built environment, fostering a booming economy, and developing vital communities. Key goals are to recover the architectural and urban identity of all the Kingdom’s regions, genuinely enhance the urban character & pattern, and facilitate comprehensive urban transformation of cities into architecturally and urbanely advanced communities.

One of the most important tools to realize this urban transformation is the Kingdom’s urban identity projects initiative which focuses on defining the Kingdom’s architectural and urban identities by dividing the Kingdom into nineteen realms - each with unique regional & urban identities. This division has led to nineteen design directives for all the KSA regions. These directives provide architectural and urban guidelines to restore and provide architectural and urban identity in a manner that motivates consultancy offices, developers, and citizens to realize the urban identity initiative objectives and, in turn, deliver remarkable benefits to the built environment and urban fabric of the Kingdom’s cities.

The guidelines are prefaced by the general description of architectural and urban patterns of each region. These are based on historical studies that highlight major genuine architectural and urban landmarks. The guidelines address architectural design, urban formation and public realm spaces, the organization of architectural elements on building facades and align with directives to foster consistency of these elements together. The guidelines and directives include but are not limited to the design and forms of different elements, materiality & preferred colors, and other components that identify the character and pattern of buildings to ensure consistency with the urban pattern requirements for each region.

To advance each region’s development projects consistent with its urban and architectural identity objectives, qualified Design Studios are required to be established. The objective of each Design Studio is to provide consultancy services and directives for new development projects in support of implementing urban & architectural guidelines, detailed codes, design directives and processes.