Prior to his current position in the government of Sierra Leone, he was a professor at the University of Bradford where he was the coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in African Peace and Conflict Studies.

[7][4] Francis was born and raised in Kenema in Eastern Sierra Leone, and he is a member of the Mende ethnic group.

[7][4][8] In 1994, he earned a master's degree in Human Rights at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and a second degree in 1995 in Diploma in Law, Development and Social Justice at the International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands.

[7][4][8] Since 2015, Francis has been a member of the board of trustees and joined the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE).

[7][8][9][10] He was a professor at the University of Bradford, where he was director of the Africa Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and Personal Research Chair.