Director – Tourism & Culture Communications

Job description

Edelman is a voice synonymous with trust, reimagining a future where the currency of communication is action. Our culture thrives on three promises: boldness is possibility, empathy is progress, and curiosity is momentum. At Edelman, we understand diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) transform our colleagues, our company, our clients, and our communities. We are in relentless pursuit of an equitable and inspiring workplace that is respectful of all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust, collaboration and belonging. Role Title: Director – Tourism & Culture Communications Role Overview We are looking for a senior communications leader to support one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant destination and cultural projects. The role will lead strategic PR, communications, stakeholder engagement, media relations, and integrated campaign planning across tourism, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and destination development. Key Responsibilities Lead the day-to-day strategic communications and related tourism, culture, and destination-focused mandates. Develop and execute PR strategies that position the project as a landmark cultural, lifestyle, tourism, and urban destination in Riyadh. Manage senior client relationships, providing strategic counsel across media, reputation, stakeholder communications, and campaign planning. Build compelling narratives around culture, arts, sustainability, community engagement, entertainment, and destination appeal. Oversee media relations across Saudi, GCC, regional, and international outlets, ensuring strong visibility and positive coverage. Lead announcement strategies, press materials, executive messaging, speeches, briefing documents, thought leadership, and content calendars. Work closely with creative, digital, social, strategy, and planning teams to deliver integrated communications campaigns. Support major milestones, launches, cultural programming, events, partnerships, and destination activations. Manage issues and reputation-sensitive communications with a proactive and solutions-oriented approach. Guide and mentor junior team members, ensuring quality delivery, strong client servicing, and consistent performance. Monitor tourism, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, and Vision 2030-related trends to identify storytelling opportunities. Candidate Profile 10–12+ years of experience in PR, strategic communications, public affairs, destination marketing, tourism, culture, lifestyle, or government-related communications. Strong understanding of Saudi Arabia’s tourism, culture, entertainment, and giga-project landscape. Experience managing high-profile government, semi-government, destination, real estate, cultural, or tourism clients. Proven ability to advise senior stakeholders and manage complex multi-stakeholder environments. Excellent media relations experience across Saudi and regional media. Strong writing skills in English; Arabic is highly preferred. Ability to work in a fast-paced agency environment and manage multiple workstreams at once. Strong leadership, client management, presentation, and team development skills. Preferred Experience Prior experience working on Vision 2030 projects, giga-projects, destination development, cultural institutions, tourism authorities, or major public-facing national initiatives. Familiarity with Riyadh’s evolving tourism, lifestyle, culture, and urban development agenda. Agency experience, preferably within a leading PR, communications, or integrated marketing firm. We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.