Linda Odongo

I've spent the last 10+ years keeping organisations running smoothly behind the scenes, supporting founders and teams across publishing, hospitality, financial services and healthcare. I enjoy bringing structure to busy environments, coordinating people and projects, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. Whether that's organising a festival with 100+ authors, managing a complex stakeholder relationship, or following up on an overdue invoice, I take pride in delivering reliable, well-organised support that helps teams move work forward.

Senior Administrator at Black British Book Festival (2023-06 – Present)

Run day-to-day operations and provide executive support to the Founder. Europe's largest celebration of Black literature.

• Run day-to-day operations and provide executive support to the Founder, including calendar and scheduling support, turning her priorities into clear, well-organised plans.
• Manage day-to-day communication with authors, publishers, sponsors, venues, agents, volunteers and suppliers through Gmail, ensuring timely follow-up and coordination.
• Manage sponsor partnerships and contracts with major publishing and industry partners, including Penguin Random House, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Audible, Amazon KDP and IngramSpark.
• Lead media relations: drafting and distributing press releases, identifying and contacting journalists, and acting as the point of contact for media enquiries.
• Organise logistics for speakers, volunteers, stallholders, school partnerships and community projects.
• Track deadlines and accountability across the team using Asana, spotting and resolving bottlenecks before they cause delays.
• Built and maintained the team's annual operational blueprint, mapping key tasks, responsibilities and deadlines to keep projects organised and on track throughout the year.
• Support recruitment by posting vacancies, reviewing applications and shortlisting candidates.
• Process payments to authors, freelancers, vendors and suppliers via the company Wise account, and handle online purchases on the Founder's behalf, with her approval through the Wise app.
• Produce and distribute newsletters using EmailOctopus (previously Mailchimp and Brevo) to keep subscribers informed about festival news, events and organisational updates.

Senior Administrator at Black British Book Festival (2023-06 – 2025)

Achievements in role

• Helped grow the festival from 4,300 attendees in 2023 to over 6,000 in 2025, while expanding year-round programming.
• Helped deliver the 2025 festival at the Barbican Centre: 40+ events and 100+ authors in a single year.
• Coordinated programming at Southbank Centre (2023) and Barbican Centre (2024–2025), with speakers including Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Eve and Tabitha Brown.
• Led national and international initiatives, including London Book Fair partnerships (2024–2026), Hay Festival collaborations, workshops in Botswana, UK book tours and city pop-ups.
• Built and maintained partnerships with 10+ publishing and industry sponsors each year, including all five major UK trade publishers.
• Managed relationships with journalists and media outlets, with press releases resulting in coverage across BBC News, The Guardian, The Independent, The Voice and other national outlets.
• Supported the launch of two community libraries (Croydon, 2023; Sydenham, 2025).

Marketing Operations Assistant at The Strategy Channel (2023-04 – 2023-06)

A digital consultancy supporting consultants, course creators and service brands.

• Provided day-to-day operational and administrative support to the CEO in a fast-moving remote consultancy.
• Coordinated marketing campaigns across email, social media and client promotions.
• Managed project workflows in ClickUp, tracking deadlines and keeping the team accountable.
• Managed the shared inbox (Helpwise, Webmail), sorting and assigning high volumes of correspondence.
• Kept CRM records accurate and up to date in Zoho CRM and Jotform.
• Carried out research and pulled together data to support campaign decisions.
• Maintained standard operating procedures (SOPs), project documentation and structured workflows to improve operational visibility.
• Supported client-facing projects including digital marketing campaigns, e-commerce configuration and CRM setup, coordinating tasks across multiple client accounts simultaneously.

Marketing Operations Assistant at The Strategy Channel (2023-04 – 2023-06)

Achievements in role

• Picked up several new tools (Slack, ClickUp, Zoho CRM, Helpwise, Jotform) within weeks and became a reliable point of contact for the team.
• Improved task visibility and deadline tracking through more structured use of project management tools.
• Strengthened communication between leadership and clients across different time zones.

Community Relationship Officer at Dental Smiles for Kids/Adults (2022-02 – 2022-10)

A Nairobi dental clinic offering family, paediatric and corporate dental care.

• Acted as the main point of contact between the clinic and schools, embassies and corporate partners.
• Planned and ran outreach campaigns and dental health initiatives to bring in new patients.
• Managed high-volume communication with clients and patients by phone, email, bulk SMS (Bonga) and in person.
• Kept patient and partner records accurate and confidential using ACE Dental software and internal systems.
• Looked after billing and invoicing through Zoho.
• Pulled together weekly marketing reports and tracked engagement trends.
• Prepared marketing proposals and presentations for corporate pitches and partnership discussions.

Community Relationship Officer at Dental Smiles for Kids/Adults (2022-02 – 2022-10)

Achievements in role

• Pioneered and single-handedly built the clinic's marketing and outreach function from the ground up, as the sole employee carrying out business development at the time.
• Built institutional partnerships with the World Bank, Deloitte Kenya and the Palladium Group.
• Organised a virtual dental outreach programme for RTI International and secured approvals to conduct future outreach with the United Nations, Centum Investments and Braeside School.
• Received a Letter of Recommendation for service and professionalism.

Sales and Marketing Representative at Platinum Credit Limited (2020-11 – 2022-02)

A microfinance institution providing short-term loans to civil servants, teachers and employees of approved organisations.

• Generated and converted leads through cold calling, field visits and direct outreach, consistently exceeding daily outreach targets.
• Explained loan products, repayment terms and eligibility clearly so clients could make informed choices.
• Advised clients on additional financial products including loan top-ups, refinancing and buy-offs, broadening the value of each client relationship.
• Carried out affordability checks, verifying income and repayment capacity.
• Checked and processed client documents (ID, payslips, bank statements, employer letters) for accuracy and compliance.
• Tracked applications using Mambu, the company's cloud lending platform, and followed up with the credit team to keep approvals on schedule.
• Kept client records and sales reports up to date and in line with company policy.

Sales and Marketing Representative at Platinum Credit Limited (2020-11 – 2022-02)

Achievements in role

• Closed seven sales in my first four months.
• Built trust-based relationships that led to repeat business and referrals.
• Helped maintain high documentation accuracy, supporting 24-hour disbursement targets.

Front Office Coordinator at TSG Hospitality (The Spartan Group) (2018-11 – 2020-05)

Part of The Spartan Group, an international property management and hospitality company operating serviced apartments across Kenya.

• Managed front office operations for a busy serviced apartment complex, overseeing guest check-ins, check-outs, rent collection and compliance paperwork.
• Tracked occupancy, arrivals, departures and unit availability, and coordinated reservations across Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Reserveport.
• Conducted apartment show-rounds for prospective guests and assisted with booking enquiries and reservations.
• Coordinated with housekeeping, maintenance, procurement and security teams to resolve issues and maintain service standards.
• Managed petty cash for property supplies and submitted usage reports.
• Prepared shift handover reports and weekly and monthly occupancy and revenue reports for management.
• Handled guest complaints and issues professionally, ensuring prompt resolution.

Front Office Coordinator at TSG Hospitality (The Spartan Group) (2018-11 – 2020-05)

Achievements in role

• Trained and onboarded new front office staff, improving service consistency and operational standards.
• Maintained positive guest reviews across Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia.
• Developed strong client relations, negotiation and occupancy reporting skills within an international hospitality environment.
• Received a Letter of Recommendation for reliability and professionalism.

Office Assistant at Damge Enterprises (2016-05 – 2018-11)

A private consultancy providing accountancy, auditing, tax and business registration services.

• Provided administrative support in an accountancy and tax consultancy, handling documents, correspondence and client records.
• Prepared and filed VAT and personal income tax returns through the KRA iTax platform.
• Registered new businesses, preparing and submitting the required paperwork.
• Managed bill payments and basic financial record-keeping.
• Maintained confidential client tax and financial records.

Office Assistant at Damge Enterprises (2016-05 – 2018-11)

Achievements in role

• Independently managed end-to-end statutory registration and compliance setup for new client businesses, without prior formal training.
• Built a strong foundation in office administration, tax compliance and confidential record management.

BA in Mass Media & Communication (Public Relations) – Mount Kenya University