Aga Khan Foundation Syria is seeking a Country Director to lead Accelerate Prosperity’s operations in Syria, with the role based in Damascus or Salamieh and open to both local and expatriate candidates. Applications are open until Monday, August 3, 2026, with full details and the application process available at lnkd.in/dgY5sSJ3.
The Country Director role sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship investment, economic development, and institutional leadership in one of the most consequential and underserved markets that Accelerate Prosperity operates in. Syria’s economic landscape, shaped by years of conflict and displacement, presents both significant challenges and genuine opportunities for an organisation with the right model and the right leadership to make a measurable difference in the lives of entrepreneurs, particularly the youth and women entrepreneurs who have historically had the least access to capital, networks, and institutional support. The incoming Country Director will be responsible for driving Accelerate Prosperity’s investment in startups and small and growing businesses across the country, building the relationships and operational infrastructure needed to channel support to the ventures most capable of generating employment, economic activity, and longer-term resilience within their communities.
Accelerate Prosperity’s model, which combines financial support with technical assistance and network access for early-stage and growing businesses, has been applied across multiple markets in Central and South Asia with a consistent focus on founders who sit outside the mainstream of conventional investment pipelines. In Syria, that focus translates into a mandate to reach entrepreneurs in Damascus and Salamieh who are building businesses in a context where the infrastructure, financial system, and institutional support that founders in more stable markets take for granted are either severely constrained or entirely absent. Leading that work requires someone who combines the entrepreneurial instinct and drive to build something meaningful in a difficult environment with the strategic and operational capability to manage an institutional programme at the country level, including stakeholder relationships, team leadership, and accountability to Aga Khan Foundation’s standards and the communities it serves.
The role’s openness to both local and expatriate candidates reflects a recognition that the right combination of market knowledge, institutional experience, and entrepreneurial leadership may come from within Syria or from outside it, and that both profiles bring distinct and valuable assets to the challenge. For candidates with experience in development finance, entrepreneurship support, or economic development programming in complex or post-conflict markets, the Syria Country Director position represents one of the more substantive and purposeful leadership opportunities available in the region. Those interested in applying can access the full role details and application at lnkd.in/dgY5sSJ3 ahead of the August 3 deadline.
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