Suffolk County Council’s new chief executive is expected to be introduced at the authority’s meeting next week.

An appointments board of senior councillors is to interview candidates for the role on Monday – and their recommendation will then be given to the full meeting of the county council which is meeting on Thursday.

The name of the recommended candidate will not be revealed until the start of the meeting on Thursday afternoon.

The new chief executive will replace Deborah Cadman who has been in the role since 2011 and is leaving to take over as chief executive of the new West Midlands Joint Authority run by elected mayor Andy Street.

The successful candidate will be paid the same salary as Ms Cadman – £170,000 a year – but the county will also pay an extra £44,200 a year in contributions to Suffolk’s Local Government Pension Scheme.

If the successful candidate chooses not to join that scheme, the authority might agree to pay up to that sum as an alternative benefit.

If the new chief executive does choose to join the Local Government Pension Scheme they would have to pay £21,250 a year into the fund.

The total cost of the new chief executive to council tax payers will be about £214,000 a year – the same cost to the public purse as Ms Cadman.

The candidates for the job are understood to come from both a local authority background and from the private sector.

A spokesman for the county council said: “It is a very strong field of candidates that will be interviewed.”

Whoever is appointed is expected to take over later in year. In the meantime director of children’s services Sue Cook will be interim chief executive at the county council as Ms Cadman leaves this month.

The appointments board that will be interviewing the candidates has five members, three Conservatives and two opposition councillors.

Conservative council leader Colin Noble is joined by his cabinet colleagues Richard Smith (finance) and Jane Storey (deputy leader).

They will be joined by Labour group leader Sandra Gage and Liberal Democrat David Wood who heads a group comprising of his own party, the Greens and Independent councillors.