Francis started as a journalist in 1992, working for Community Care, where she became deputy features editor.
[2] Her organization The Creative Collective arranged internships for ethnic minority media students, launched a quarterly glossy magazine called Mediavibe, and worked with Black Britain Online to develop resources to encourage more racially inclusive television and press content.
[1] In 2016 Francis was appointed project manager of the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowships.
[3] In June 2020 Words of Colour, in collaboration with University College London, launched Take Flight Hub, a virtual development programme to provide support for emerging black and Asian writers.
[4] Francis was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.