President and Provost, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI). Was Dean, School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Institute (2017-2020). Previously, Head of the Politics and IR Program at DI (2015-2017), and founder coordinator of the Democracy and Islam Program at the University of Westminster (1998-2015). Also worked as a pilot, London-based Sudanese diplomat, and journalist and magazine editor in the UK.

Dr El-Affendi was visiting fellow/professor at the Christian Michelsen Institute (Bergen, Norway, 1995 and 2003), and the Universities of Northwestern (Chicago, 2002), Oxford (1990), Cambridge (2010-2012), and the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (Malaysia, 2008). Delivered keynote speeches and lectures at most major universities in the US, UK and a number of universities in Asia, Africa and South America.