Urban Economics Expert

UN Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MoMaH), are leading the redrafting of Saudi Arabia s National Spatial Strategy (NSS). The NSS defines the spatial framework for achieving Vision 2030 and beyond, integrating spatial, economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable national development. The updated NSS will align with two complementary initiatives carried out:

• The Spatial Planning Act (SPA) establishing the statutory spatial planning hierarchy.
• The National Urban Policy (NUP) defining policy priorities for urban development and governance.

The NSS aims to provide a cohesive, data-driven national territorial vision, integrating the economic and spatial dimensions of Saudi Arabia s transformation. Within this framework, the Urban Economics Expert will provide specialized economic analysis to support the identification of spatial development trends, economic corridors, industrial clusters, and regional competitiveness, underpinning the NSS s spatial framework and policy directions. He/ She will be a core member of the NSS technical team, contributing economic expertise to spatial analyses, scenario development, and strategy formulation. The Urban Economics Expert will collaborate closely with the Chief Technical Advisor (UNDP), Chief National Adviser, Analytics Team, GIS Team, and relevant MoMaH and DASC departments.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Economic and Spatial Diagnostics Output: Contribution to the NSS Diagnostic Report, including spatial-economic typology and regional competitiveness profiles
• Conduct a comprehensive economic baseline assessment of Saudi Arabia, covering macroeconomic trends, sectoral performance, labor markets, productivity, and investment flows.
• Analyze regional economic structures, identifying competitive advantages, disparities, and growth constraints.
• Integrate findings with demographic and spatial datasets from GASTAT, SDAIA, and MoMaH.
• Provide economic insights to inform the NSS s Diagnosis and Baseline Phase.
• Spatial-Economic Modeling and Scenario Development Output: Economic Scenarios Report and data inputs for GIS-based modeling and mapping
• Lead the development of spatial-economic models linking economic growth scenarios to population, employment, and land-use dynamics.
• Identify and map economic corridors, industrial zones, logistics networks, and service clusters aligned with Vision 2030 and beyond programs.
• Analyze potential future economic trajectories under alternative development scenarios (e.g., diversification-led, innovation-led, green growth).
• Support integration of economic models with GIS-based spatial structure analysis conducted by the geospatial team.
• Policy and Strategy Integration Output: Inputs to the NSS policy framework, including economic development strategies and spatial investment priorities
• Align economic analysis with the Spatial Planning Act (SPA) and National Urban Policy (NUP) frameworks.
• Identify policy implications of economic spatial trends for land use, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability.
• Provide recommendations for regional economic development zones, investment corridors, and resource management.
• Draft economic and spatial policy sections for inclusion in the NSS document.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Coordination Output: Presentation materials, technical memos, and stakeholder feedback integration as needed
• Participate in inter-ministerial technical meetings and thematic workshops.
• Present findings and policy implications to the NSS Technical and Steering Committees.

Institutional Arrangement

The Urban Economics Expert will report directly to the Chief Technical Advisor (UNDP) and liaise on a daily basis with the NSS technical team and relevant MoMaH departments. Collaboration with the GIS, Spatial Planning, Environmental, and Infrastructure Experts will be continuous throughout the NSS project.

Duty Station

The assignment will be office-based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.