Sunethra Bandaranaike has worked as a researcher in the Minority Rights Group and the Overseas Development Institute and formerly held the post of Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. She serves as the chairperson at the Sunera Foundation, an NGO established in 2000 which works with differently-abled youth and adults. She was a trustee of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts from November 1990 to February 2019, and was a close personal friend of Geoffrey Bawa.