Procurement Lead - Transport Links

Transport Links will provide strategic procurement leadership across complex regional mobility and infrastructure programs where transparency, value, compliance, risk allocation, and delivery alignment are critical. The position supports project success by building robust procurement plans, managing major tenders, selecting suitable contracting models, coordinating with technical and commercial teams, and ensuring procurement timelines support design development, construction sequencing, operational readiness, and stakeholder approvals. This role is important for protecting client interests, improving market competitiveness, and securing capable suppliers for major transportation assets.

Key Responsibilities

* Lead end-to-end procurement strategy and execution for regional transport links, including rail, highways, bus corridors, logistics corridors, depots, hubs, and associated infrastructure.
* Develop procurement strategies aligned with program objectives, funding requirements, commercial priorities, risk profile, and delivery milestones.
* Define category strategies for civil works, structures, rail systems, road systems, transport equipment, buildings, depots, hubs, consultancy services, and multidisciplinary professional services.
* Establish procurement schedules, tender milestones, approval routes, resource plans, and sourcing priorities for multiple concurrent projects.
* Lead market engagement, supplier intelligence, prequalification, bidder evaluation, and shortlisting for large and complex transport contracts.
* Oversee preparation of tender documentation, including instructions to tenderers, scope of work, technical requirements, commercial conditions, pricing schedules, evaluation criteria, and contract requirements.
* Manage the full tendering process, including clarifications, addenda, tender receipt, technical evaluation, commercial evaluation, negotiations, recommendation for award, and approval submissions.
* Ensure tender processes are fair, transparent, auditable, competitive, and compliant with internal policies, public procurement requirements, and applicable regulations.
* Recommend suitable contracting strategies such as EPC, Design and Build, DBFM, PPP, concession models, framework agreements, and package-based procurement routes.
* Collaborate with legal, finance, commercial, technical, planning, and delivery teams to develop balanced contract terms and effective risk allocation.
* Lead commercial negotiations to secure best value while protecting the client’s contractual, delivery, safety, cost, and performance interests.
* Develop and maintain a qualified supplier base for regional transport infrastructure, including local and international contractors, designers, consultants, systems suppliers, and specialist service providers.
* Monitor market capacity, procurement trends, pricing movement, supply chain constraints, and contractor appetite to guide sourcing timing and strategy.
* Drive supplier performance management through KPIs, commercial reviews, relationship management, performance improvement plans, and lessons learned.
* Implement procurement governance frameworks, policies, procedures, approval gates, and audit controls across regional link projects.
* Ensure compliance with public procurement laws, funding agency requirements, internal audit standards, ethics expectations, and transparency requirements.
* Identify, assess, and manage procurement and commercial risks, ensuring alignment with program-wide risk registers and mitigation plans.
* Prepare procurement reports, tender recommendations, award papers, commercial briefings, and executive committee submissions.
* Work closely with project directors, engineers, planners, cost managers, legal teams, and commercial leads to align procurement with design maturity, construction sequencing, budgets, and project delivery needs.
* Support change management activities related to procurement variations, claims, contract amendments, scope adjustments, and commercial risk exposure.
* Ensure procurement timelines support project delivery, critical milestones, authority requirements, construction readiness, and operational readiness dates.
* Act as the principal procurement interface for government entities, regulators, partners, funding agencies, client representatives, and senior stakeholders.
* Present procurement strategies, tender outcomes, commercial recommendations, sourcing risks, and award proposals to steering boards and senior governance forums.
* Support stakeholder consultations and approvals in line with national or regional transport strategies.
* Lead, mentor, and develop procurement specialists, category managers, tender support staff, and commercial procurement teams.
* Build capability in strategic sourcing, complex tender evaluation, procurement governance, commercial negotiation, and supplier management.
* Promote ethical procurement, transparent decision-making, knowledge sharing, continuous improvement, and best practice use of procurement tools and processes.

Ideal Profile

* Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Supply Chain Management, Business, Procurement, Commercial Management, or a related discipline.
* Minimum 15 years of procurement experience within the transport, infrastructure, construction, or major capital programs sector.
* Proven track record leading procurement for large-scale transport projects such as inter-city rail, regional rail, highways, expressways, BRT, bus networks, regional bus corridors, freight corridors, logistics corridors, or multimodal links.
* Extensive experience managing end-to-end tendering, bidder evaluation, commercial negotiation, contract recommendation, and award processes for high-value complex packages.
* Strong understanding of construction procurement, rail and road systems, package interfaces, contract risk profiles, supplier capacity, and infrastructure delivery constraints.
* Experience developing category strategies for civil works, transport systems, professional services, buildings, depots, hubs, and specialist infrastructure packages.
* Strong knowledge of procurement methodologies, contract forms, international best practices, audit requirements, and transparent procurement governance.
* Ability to manage multiple complex procurements in parallel while maintaining quality, compliance, schedule discipline, and stakeholder confidence.
* Strong commercial acumen with proven negotiation skills and the ability to secure value while managing risk.
* Effective stakeholder management and influencing capability at senior client, government, regulator, partner, and supplier levels.
* High level of integrity, professional ethics, accountability, and commitment to compliant procurement.
* Strong analytical, reporting, decision-making, and executive presentation skills.
* Master’s degree in Project Management, Infrastructure Management, Supply Chain, Commercial Management, or a relevant field is an advantage.
* Professional certification such as CIPS, ISM, RICS, or equivalent is preferred.
* Experience with PPP, concession models, international financing institutions, public sector clients, or regulated procurement environments is desirable.
* Regional experience in the GCC, Middle East, Europe, Asia, or other major infrastructure markets would be valuable.

Skills Set

* Transport infrastructure procurement
* Strategic sourcing
* Procurement strategy
* Procurement planning
* Tender management
* End-to-end procurement
* Regional transport links
* Inter-city rail procurement
* Highway procurement
* Bus corridor procurement
* Logistics corridor procurement
* Civil works procurement
* Rail systems procurement
* Road systems procurement
* Transport buildings procurement
* Depot procurement
* Hub procurement
* Consultancy procurement
* Category strategy
* Market engagement
* Supplier prequalification
* Bidder shortlisting
* Tender documentation
* Instructions to tenderers
* Scope of work development
* Commercial conditions
* Pricing schedules
* Tender clarifications
* Addenda management
* Tender evaluation
* Commercial evaluation
* Technical evaluation coordination
* Contract award recommendation
* EPC contracts
* Design and Build contracts
* DBFM
* PPP
* Concession models
* Framework agreements
* Contract negotiation
* Supplier management
* Supplier performance KPIs
* Procurement governance
* Public procurement compliance
* Funding agency requirements
* Audit standards
* Procurement risk management
* Commercial risk management
* Program risk registers
* Executive reporting
* Steering board submissions
* Change management
* Claims support
* Contract amendments
* Stakeholder engagement
* Government coordination
* Regulator coordination
* Funding agency coordination
* CIPS
* ISM
* RICS
* Team leadership

Why Join Us

This Procurement Lead - Transport Links role in Riyadh offers the opportunity to shape procurement strategy for major regional mobility and infrastructure programs with high commercial value and long-term public impact. The position provides senior exposure to complex tenders, international and local supplier markets, transport systems, civil works packages, public-sector governance, and strategic contract models. It is a strong fit for a procurement leader who wants to secure best value, improve procurement transparency, and support future-ready transportation infrastructure in Saudi Arabia’s expanding Transportation-Trucking-Railroad sector.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation is a global engineering, construction, and program management company supporting major transportation, rail, infrastructure, urban development, utilities, environmental, and technology-led projects. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Parsons supports complex transport programs through procurement leadership, commercial governance, technical coordination, stakeholder engagement, contract strategy, risk management, and client-focused delivery across large-scale infrastructure environments.