Manager (Urban and Real Estate Economist

Job Description

Overview

AtkinsRéalis is seeking an experienced Senior Urban and Real Estate Economist to join its Advisory team in the Middle East.

The role will provide economic, demographic and real estate market analysis to support development advisory, urban planning, master planning and infrastructure planning assignments. The successful candidate will translate population, household, employment and sector growth forecasts into spatial and real estate requirements, including:

• •Land-use and development demand.
• •Real estate asset mix and scale.
• •Housing and employment requirements.
• •Social infrastructure needs.
• •Development capacity and absorption.
• •Development and infrastructure phasing.
• •Investment priorities.

The candidate will work as part of multidisciplinary teams alongside development advisors, urban planners, master planners, real estate specialists, infrastructure planners, engineers, transport specialists, GIS professionals and financial advisors.

Your role

Urban and Spatial Economics

• •Undertake economic, demographic and socio-economic analysis for regional strategies, city plans, master plans and major development programmes.
• •Prepare population, household, employment and economic forecasts at regional, city, district and development levels.
• •Translate growth forecasts into spatial requirements for residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, industrial, mixed-use and community development.
• •Assess relationships between economic activity, population distribution, employment, accessibility, land use and infrastructure provision.
• •Develop and test alternative growth and development scenarios and assess their spatial implications.
• •Prepare socio-economic baselines, city and regional benchmarks, economic impact assessments and wider-benefits analysis.
• •Translate demographic forecasts into requirements for housing and social infrastructure, including education, healthcare, recreation and community facilities.
• •Work with planning and GIS teams to spatially represent population, employment, economic activity and development demand.

Real Estate Economics

• •Undertake real estate market, demand and supply assessments across relevant asset classes.
• •Analyse market drivers, existing and planned supply, occupancy, take-up, pricing, absorption and competing developments.
• •Prepare development demand forecasts for residential, office, retail, hospitality, industrial and other real estate uses.
• •Provide economic and market inputs into development positioning, land-use mix, scale, density and phasing.
• •Assess the market supportability and absorption of proposed development programmes.
• •Support highest-and-best-use studies, development strategies, land strategies and master plans.
• •Test development scenarios against economic, demographic and real estate market conditions.
• •Work with financial advisors to align market assumptions, development programmes and financial feasibility.
• •Provide evidence to support development, land-use and investment decisions.

Development and Infrastructure Planning

• •Translate population, employment and real estate forecasts into high-level infrastructure and service-demand assumptions.
• •Support infrastructure planners in understanding how development growth affects transport, utilities, municipal services and social infrastructure.
• •Identify development dependencies and infrastructure triggers affecting land release, development sequencing and phasing.
• •Support the alignment of real estate absorption, development delivery and infrastructure investment.
• •Provide economic and demand inputs into infrastructure strategies, investment plans and business cases.

Project Delivery

• •Lead defined urban and real estate economics workstreams within multidisciplinary advisory assignments.
• •Develop clear methodologies, analytical frameworks, forecast models and evidence bases.
• •Gather and analyse quantitative and qualitative information from government, commercial and client sources.
• •Prepare high-quality technical reports, presentations, working papers and executive summaries.
• •Translate complex analysis into clear findings and practical recommendations for planning, development and investment decisions.
• •Present analysis and recommendations to clients and project stakeholders.

Business and Practice Development

• •Contribute to technical and commercial proposals across development advisory, urban planning, real estate and infrastructure planning.
• •Support client engagement and the identification of new business opportunities.
• •Develop reusable datasets, forecasting tools, analytical methodologies and templates.
• •Contribute to market insights and thought leadership on urban growth, real estate development and regional economic trends.
• •Share knowledge and good practice across Advisory and the wider AtkinsRéalis business.
• •Support the professional development of junior economists and analysts.
• •Champion collaboration, inclusion and high-quality delivery.

About you

Education

• •Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Real Estate Economics, Urban Economics, Economic Geography, Regional Science, Urban Planning or a related discipline.
• •Master’s degree in Urban Economics, Real Estate, Economics, Development Economics, Economic Geography, Urban Planning or a related field is preferred.

Professional Experience / Qualifications

• •Typically +8 years of relevant experience;
• •Experience in urban economics, real estate economics, development advisory, socio-economics or a related consulting discipline.
• •Demonstrable ability to translate economic and demographic forecasts into spatial and real estate requirements.
• •Experience supporting master plans, development strategies, regional plans, regeneration programmes or major real estate developments.
• •Experience in real estate market assessment and demand forecasting across one or more asset classes.
• •Good understanding of the relationship between economic growth, population, employment, land use, real estate markets and infrastructure.
• •Strong quantitative, forecasting and analytical capability.
• •Advanced capability in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• •Experience with GIS, statistical analysis or data-visualisation tools is desirable.
• •Experience in the UAE, KSA or wider GCC is strongly preferred.
• •Experience within a consultancy, development authority, planning agency, real estate advisor or government organisation is advantageous.

Behavioral Skills

• •Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with the ability to move from data and evidence to practical recommendations.
• •Ability to connect economic and real estate analysis with physical planning, development and investment decisions.
• •Excellent written communication, report-writing and presentation skills.
• •Ability to communicate complex analysis clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• •Strong attention to detail and commitment to analytical quality.
• •Commercial awareness and understanding of the factors influencing real estate and development decisions.
• •Ability to manage defined workstreams and deliver high-quality outputs within agreed programmes and budgets.
• •Confidence working within multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.
• •Ability to operate effectively where information or project requirements may be evolving.
• •Proactive, collaborative and willing to take responsibility for assigned deliverables.
• •Ability to prioritise competing tasks and work effectively under pressure.
• •Fluency in written and spoken English; Arabic language capability is advantageous.
• •Willingness to travel within the UAE, KSA and wider GCC.
• •Commitment to delivering sustainable, inclusive and commercially viable development outcomes.

Rewards & benefits

Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career.

This includes:

• •Tax-free salary.
• •Life insurance coverage.
• •Medical insurance.
• •Annual leave balance.
• •Company gratuit