Theresa May's official spokesperson Helen Bower-Easton is moving on to become the new director of communications at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Number 10 has confirmed.
Bower-Easton became the official spokesperson to May's predecessor David Cameron in 2015, after a year-long stint as deputy. The role sees her field questions from Westminster journalists at twice-daily lobby briefings.
The first woman to serve as PMOS, Bower-Easton has previously worked in a number of civil service comms roles with an international focus, including as chief foreign affairs spokesperson for Number 10. Her experience as head of media for the UK's Representation to the EU, based in Brussels and now working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union, will be seen as particularly crucial as the FCO plays its part in Brexit.
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Earlier this year, Bower-Easton was awarded a CBE for public service in David Cameron's controversial resignation honours list. She was also listed among the 1000 most influential Londoners of 2016 in the Evening Standard's annual round-up, with the paper singling out her "encyclopaedic memory", "Stakhanovite work ethic" and "sixth sense for the tricks of the lobby".
Downing Street said Bower-Easton was expected to take on the FCO job, which will see her become head of profession in the department and oversee the Foreign Office's media output and internal communications work, in April.
CSW is currently awaiting details from the FCO on the next move for Hugh Elliott, the department's current comms director, who has been in post since April 2013.