Rose Ashburner has stepped down as head of corporate and healthcare communications at Boots, where she has spent the past five years, to become head of policy and comms at The Migraine Trust.
She started her new role, which is a part-time maternity cover contract, last month and reports to the charity’s chief executive Rob Music.
Ashburner is responsible for a team of three as well as a retained public affairs consultancy, Principal Consulting. She will also be responsible for comms agencies appointed on a project basis.
Her initial priorities include launching a report in June to highlight barriers to migraine treatment and opportunities for improved care.
She has also been tasked with advocating for better migraine support in primary care, with a focus on community pharmacy, as well as championing better migraine support in workplaces.
In addition, Ashburner will lead the charity’s flagship annual awareness campaign, Migraine Awareness Week, in September.
Alongside her part-time role at The Migraine Trust, she is working as a freelance comms consultant – with a focus on health and wellbeing businesses and charities.
Ashburner has spent more than a decade in comms, holding several agency-side and in-house roles.
Prior to joining Boots in 2021, she was corporate communications manager at Qatar Airways. She previously worked in comms agencies including Portland, where she was an account director, the Red Consultancy, where she was an account manager, and Cartwright Communications, where she was an account executive.
Commenting on her latest role, she told In.Comms: “After an incredible five years at Boots leading the retailer’s corporate, healthcare and ESG campaigns, I am delighted to start a new role in the charity sector that incorporates policy and public affairs as well as communications.”
Ashburner said: “I’m lucky to join the Migraine Trust at such an exciting time, with so many opportunities to go after to continue to raise awareness of the impact of migraine and advocate for better care and support.
“I’m especially looking forward to driving our campaign to make the workplace easier for people with migraine and welcome conversations with in-house communications, employee wellbeing and ESG teams.”