Over the years she worked in the Institute of Architecture and Art of ANAS, headed the Office of Cultural Policy in the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan that managed strategic solutions and innovative projects in field of culture, closely interacted and cooperated with such international organizations as UNESCO, ISESCO, the Council of Europe, TURKSOY, the CIS Council for Cultural Cooperation, etc. Chief Coordinator and Co-Author of the Report on Cultural Policy in the Republic of Azerbaijan (Baku–Strasbourg, 2002), a national author of the Compendium of Major Facts and Directions in European Cultural Policy (2000–2006), a member of the European Society of Researchers of Cultural Politics (ECURES).
In 2001 Nigar Akhundova founded and headed the branch of the International Music Council in Azerbaijan under the aegis of UNESCO that has been actively promoting national music abroad ever since.
In 2006 she started her diplomatic career in the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Russian Federation as an Advisor for Humanitarian Affairs, where she actively participated in development and implementation of bilateral humanitarian projects.
Since 2017 she has been a Cultural Attaché of the Azerbaijanian Embassy in Russia. A special focus of her activity is bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia in field of culture and tourism.
