Strategic Advisor at Red Sea Global (2023–2024): Resilience at the Scale of a Giga-Project
Designing Safety Systems for One of the World’s Most Ambitious Developments
In 2023, Paul Jennings joined Red Sea Global (RSG) in Saudi Arabia—one of the Kingdom’s flagship giga-projects under Vision 2030. As Strategic Advisor for Emergency Preparedness and Risk, Paul was tasked with a challenge few professionals will ever face: designing the resilience, safety, and emergency response frameworks for an entire region under construction.
Working across a vast stretch of coastal and desert terrain, Paul helped develop critical systems to protect workers, infrastructure, visitors, and environmental assets as RSG accelerated towards its first operational milestones.
His remit went beyond fire and rescue—it was about future-proofing one of the most ambitious tourism and sustainability projects on the planet.
Embedding Resilience from the Ground Up
At RSG, Paul worked closely with multi-disciplinary teams—engineers, planners, health & safety specialists, architects, and public sector stakeholders—to embed emergency planning into every layer of the project.
He advised on the creation of a comprehensive Emergency Response Framework for the region, including fire strategy, evacuation protocols, risk zoning, and coordination between public and private agencies.
His work ensured that critical systems could scale with the project—meeting international standards while also respecting local regulatory requirements and cultural norms.
Planning for Complexity and Scale
The Red Sea project isn't a single site—it’s a region being built from scratch. Paul’s work had to account for everything from remote island resorts to future airports, highways, and renewable energy hubs. That meant planning for crisis scenarios ranging from construction accidents and fires to natural disasters, VIP visits, and extreme weather events.
Paul led risk reviews, scenario planning sessions, and incident readiness exercises to ensure teams across the ecosystem were prepared—not just compliant.
Strengthening Saudi Capacity for the Long Term
A key part of Paul’s legacy at RSG was supporting the development of in-country emergency leadership. He mentored local teams, shared international best practices, and helped transfer capability into permanent structures and procedures.
This wasn’t just about delivering a service—it was about enabling Saudi Arabia to manage its own risk at global standards, sustainably and with confidence.