Prior to joining the University of Manitoba as a faculty member, Hajer was a founding member and director of Breakwater Group consulting co-operative, leading government and community policy initiatives aimed at reducing poverty and promoting access to education. He previously served as a project manager for Community Economic Development Priorities Planning in the Government of Manitoba and was the executive director of Apprenticeship Manitoba. Hajer has also been a visiting lecturer at the University of Turin, Italy, where he developed and delivered an intensive graduate-level course module on Social Impact Finance Application. His research employs a political economy approach to examine the relative power of social classes and groups, contrasting economic efficiency with social welfare in public policy outcomes.