Development Director – Iraq Full Time

Location: Iraq

Sector: Hospitality, mixed use, destination development

Employment type: Full-time, permanent, hybrid

Client: Owner / Investor

The opportunity

A confidential private development group is seeking a Development Director to lead a major hospitality-led real estate development in Iraq.

This is a senior client-side role focused on the planning, structuring, and progression of a landmark destination scheme including hotel, resort, residential, wellness, leisure, retail, infrastructure, and public realm components.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Development Director will be responsible for driving the development strategy, coordinating consultants and operators, managing design progression, and ensuring the project is commercially, operationally, and technically aligned as it moves through early-stage development and into delivery readiness.

The role

The Development Director will lead the development planning and execution strategy across a complex destination project, working closely with senior leadership, investors, hotel operators, branded residence partners, design consultants, technical advisors, commercial teams, and future delivery teams.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading the overall development strategy, asset positioning, phasing, and land use planning
• Managing hospitality, resort, branded residence, wellness, leisure, and supporting real estate components
• Coordinating hotel operator engagement, technical services requirements, brand standards, and approval processes
• Managing master planners, architects, engineers, hospitality designers, cost consultants, and specialist advisors
• Overseeing design progression from master planning through concept, schematic, detailed design, and tender preparation
• Supporting development appraisals, feasibility studies, financial models, investment papers, and development budgets
• Establishing governance, reporting structures, milestone tracking, and decision making processes
• Working across legal, finance, marketing, sales, leasing, hospitality, operations, and delivery functions
• Managing external stakeholders, consultants, operators, investors, lenders, and regulatory bodies
• Supporting the transition from development planning into procurement and construction readiness

The candidate

• Candidates should bring substantial client side development experience across large scale real estate, hospitality, resort, branded residence, or mixed use projects.
• The successful candidate is likely to have:
• 15 years or more of experience in real estate development, hospitality development, resort development, or mixed use destination projects
• A track record leading projects through master planning, design development, commercial structuring, and pre construction stages
• Direct experience working with international hotel operators, hospitality brands, and branded residence partners
• Strong understanding of hospitality development economics, feasibility analysis, operator requirements, and asset positioning
• Experience managing multidisciplinary consultant teams across planning, design, commercial, technical, and delivery workstreams
• Strong commercial judgement, financial literacy, and stakeholder management capability
• Previous experience in the Middle East, emerging markets, or complex international development environments
• A background in architecture, engineering, urban planning, real estate, construction management, hospitality development, or a related field
• This role would suit a senior development professional who can operate with ownership, structure ambiguity, manage multiple stakeholders, and bring a hospitality led destination through early development into a deliverable project.

To apply

Click the link below to submit your CV for consideration. For a confidential briefing, please reach out to Matthew Donovan at MRG Global (Matthew.Donovan@mrgglobal.com)