Ja’far Tabbal’s approach to sustainability was formed long before it became part of his job title. Trained as an architectural engineer, he spent the early part of his career working across airports, mixed-use developments, high-rise buildings and healthcare projects, where sustainability had to work within the practical realities of design, construction, technical coordination and operation.
Across 23+ years in the profession, that experience has developed into a broader approach to sustainability leadership. Today, as Director of Sustainability and Strategic Development at Rehlat Albinaa | Engineering Consultants in Jeddah, he works across sustainability governance, design and technical delivery, certification strategy and business development. The common thread throughout his career has been the same: sustainability works best when it is integrated into project decisions from the beginning rather than treated as a separate exercise at the end.
Building the Technical Foundation
Soon after graduating in Architectural Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in fall 2001, Ja’far joined Dar Al-Handasah in 2002, where his early work exposed him to the scale and complexity of major projects.
At Dubai International Airport, he worked across the Terminal 3 Cargo & Auxiliary Buildings, including the multi-level car park, as well as Concourse B and the Royal Air Wing VIP hangar complex. The assignments required coordination across architectural, structural and MEP interfaces and gave him early experience of the relationships between design intent, technical documentation and constructability.
He also contributed to architectural design studies for the USD 2B+ Abraj Al-Bait Complex in Makkah, including podium layouts, tower elevations and conceptual design work. These projects established a technical foundation that would later become important to his sustainability work.
These projects established a technical foundation that would later become important to his sustainability work. Rather than viewing building performance as a separate specialist discipline, he learned to consider it alongside architecture, engineering systems, construction requirements and eventual operation.
His subsequent work at KEO International Consultants extended that experience into high-rise commercial and residential developments in Abu Dhabi, including Ewan Office Tower and the Al-Sharq residential towers.
Integrating Sustainability with Delivery
The defining programme of Ja’far’s career was the King Abdulaziz International Airport New Development in Jeddah.
He spent more than twelve years with Saudi Binladin Group on the USD 10B+ EPC design-build programme, which included the 810,000 m² Terminal 1, Transportation Centre, Railway Station and major support facilities.
His responsibilities combined sustainability with design and technical delivery rather than separating the two.
At KAIA, he administered 40+ LEED credits and produced the design and construction certification documentation that the continuing project team later carried through to LEED Gold certification in August 2026.
At the same time, he participated in the wider technical processes required to turn sustainability targets into a functioning airport. He led interdisciplinary design reviews across architecture, structure, MEP and specialist disciplines, oversaw 400+ design-deliverable packages, reviewed more than 2,000 submittals, and coordinated more than 100 stakeholders across contractors, consultants and regulatory parties.
For Ja’far, the important lesson was that certification requirements cannot remain isolated from the rest of the project.
Energy targets, material requirements, commissioning criteria and environmental commitments have to survive design development, procurement, technical submissions, construction and testing. If they are not incorporated into those processes early enough, the gap between sustainability intent and actual performance begins to widen.
His responsibilities continued through commissioning and operational handover. He developed the preventive maintenance and operational handover framework for 15,000+ MEP and airfield assets, linking decisions made during design and construction to long-term operational performance.
This full lifecycle exposure, from design intent through construction, commissioning and handover, has become central to the way he approaches sustainability today.
Building a Culture of Ownership
Major programmes also shaped Ja’far’s approach to leadership.
At KAIA, interdisciplinary reviews brought together people with different technical priorities, contractual responsibilities and levels of authority. Architecture, structure, MEP systems, specialist disciplines, contractors and consultants often needed to resolve issues under significant programme pressure.
He found that problems were resolved earlier when teams were comfortable raising incomplete ideas and potential concerns before they became formal disputes.
“People contribute more when they know the room is safe for the early, unpolished version of an idea, not just the finished one.”
That principle influenced how he ran design reviews and technical discussions. The objective was not to remove accountability, but to create an environment in which problems could be identified while there was still time to solve them efficiently.
For major projects, he believes this matters because technical decisions rarely sit within a single discipline. A design decision that appears satisfactory in isolation may create implications for energy performance, constructability, operation, certification or another system elsewhere in the project.
Effective leadership therefore depends on giving specialists enough room to challenge assumptions while maintaining clear responsibility for the final decision.
Transforming Experience into Strength
Ja’far’s experience in healthcare added another dimension to that approach.
At BAHA Consultant Engineering in Jordan, he managed eight hospital transformation initiatives for the Ministry of Health and Royal Medical Services. One of those assignments was a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit redevelopment completed within 12 months.
He also developed in-house sustainability and code compliance capability, reducing reliance on outsourced expertise.
Healthcare reinforced the importance of evidence, particularly where design decisions affect infection control, life safety, patient experience and operational performance. Decisions about materials, circulation, engineering systems and environmental quality have consequences that extend well beyond design appearance.
That experience later aligned naturally with evidence-based design principles and his subsequent EDAC accreditation. For Ja’far, the sector demonstrated that sustainable design and human outcomes are often closely connected.
Good environmental performance is strongest when it supports the people who occupy and operate the building rather than existing only as a set of technical targets.
Leading Through Change
Working across different organisations, sectors and countries has also required repeated adaptation.
Ja’far has moved between architectural design, healthcare, major aviation programmes, sustainability consulting and organisational development. The technical context changes, but his approach remains consistent: understand the requirements, identify the people and systems that determine the outcome, and establish a structure that allows decisions to be made clearly.
His commitment to continued professional development has followed the same principle.
In June 2026, he completed MIT Professional Education in Sustainability while continuing in a full-time leadership role. His professional credentials also include LEED AP BD+C, Mostadam AP, WELL AP, SITES AP, ENV SP and EDAC.
He sees professional development not as an accumulation of titles, but as a means of strengthening the technical judgement required to work across increasingly complex sustainability requirements.
Empathy as a Leadership Strength
Ja’far’s EDAC accreditation reinforced an idea that had already developed through his healthcare and major-project work: technical decisions are ultimately experienced by people.
At an airport, it may mean balancing passenger experience, airport operations, engineering requirements, regulatory obligations and contractor constraints.
He applies the same thinking to leadership.
Different specialists often see the same problem from different positions. An architect, commissioning engineer, sustainability consultant, contractor and operator may all be correct within their own area while still reaching different conclusions.
The role of a leader is therefore not simply to select the strongest opinion. It is to understand the technical basis behind each perspective, identify where the real conflict lies, and move the team towards a decision that can work in practice.
Navigating the AI Era
Evidence over opinion has guided Ja’far throughout his career, particularly when decisions are difficult or costly to reverse.
He sees artificial intelligence as another tool for strengthening analysis rather than a substitute for professional judgement. He uses AI to review scenarios and identify inconsistencies faster, while applying the same professional review, validation and technical judgement required for any engineering output.
Its value, in his view, lies in improving the speed and breadth of analysis while retaining clear professional accountability for the final decision.
Developing Future Leaders
Ja’far also contributes to the development of standards and professional capability beyond his immediate project work.
He has contributed as a subject matter expert and item writer to the LEED AP BD+C v5 examination, participated in SITES AP examination maintenance, and reviewed the FIDIC Carbon Management Guide.
These activities have given him an additional perspective on professional development. Standards are effective only when practitioners understand how to apply them under actual project conditions.
The same principle informs how he develops people within his own teams.
He values professionals who ask thoughtful questions, take responsibility for their work and are willing to learn beyond the boundaries of their immediate discipline. Technical capability matters, but so does the ability to understand how an individual’s work affects the wider project.
For him, developing future leaders means helping people build both depth in their own field and enough awareness of adjacent disciplines to make better decisions.
Sustainability Proven Through Delivery
The strongest measure of sustainability leadership, in Ja’far’s view, is not the number of certifications attached to a project. It is whether the required performance survives the entire delivery process.
At KAIA, sustainability objectives had to move through design coordination, technical submissions, construction, commissioning and eventual handover. The design and construction certification documentation developed during his tenure was subsequently carried forward by the continuing project team to LEED Gold certification.
That outcome matters because the system continued to work after individual responsibilities changed.
The same principle applies to his current work.
At Rehlat Albinaa | Engineering Consultants, he has worked on establishing sustainability governance and Mostadam readiness across active residential and mixed-use projects while supporting architectural design, construction supervision and Vision 2030-related bids.
His objective is to create processes that connect sustainability requirements with the wider systems already governing design and delivery, rather than adding another layer of administration after decisions have been made.
Building Systems That Last
Looking back across his career, Ja’far places increasing value on systems that continue to function after the individual who created them has moved on.
A certification framework, design-review process, operational handover structure or internal knowledge base has greater value when another team can understand it, maintain it and improve it.
This is also how he views professional legacy.
The most useful contribution is not simply being associated with a successful project. It is leaving behind better processes, stronger technical capability and people who are able to make sound decisions without depending indefinitely on the person who established the system.
After 23+ years in the profession, Ja’far remains focused on making sustainability work under real project conditions.
His background in architectural engineering, design and technical coordination, aviation, construction, commissioning and operational handover has shaped an approach in which sustainability is embedded in delivery rather than treated as a separate certification exercise.
As standards across Saudi Arabia and the wider region continue to evolve, his focus remains on building the systems, technical capability and teams required to carry that performance forward.
