Jafar is the chief executive officer of Crescent Enterprises, a UAE-based conglomerate. He is the president of Crescent Enterprises’ sister company Crescent Petroleum, chairman of Pearl Petroleum, which develops natural gas assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and chairman of the executive board of the port and logistics operator Gulftainer.
In 2011, Jafar was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He also serves as the chairman of Endeavor UAE and is an advisory board member of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) and Gaza Sky Geeks.
In 2015, he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to the High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, and was subsequently appointed to UNESCO’s Futures of Education International Commission.
He served as the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy and chaired the inaugural COP28 Business & Philanthropy Forum.
In May 2024, he was awarded the Order of Zayed by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In September 2024, he was appointed as a Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy for the UAE by Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.