D-DAY is approaching for Suffolk County Council in its search for a successor to Andrea Hill as chief executive.

A shortlist of four candidates has been drawn up and they are due to be interviewed next Wednesday at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road ground.

After the interviews the county council’s Staff Appointments Board will meet during the evening to formally appoint the new chief executive for the authority.

The salary of the new chief will be up to �160,000 a year – a considerable reduction on the �218,000 a year paid to Mrs Hill.

It is understood that two of those on the shortlist are current interim chief executive Lucy Robinson and Deborah Cadman, who is chief executive of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) which is due to be wound up early next year.

Ms Robinson has impressed councillors and staff since stepping into the top job following Mrs Hill’s departure – and would certainly be a popular choice in Endeavour House.

Ms Cadman has an impressive track record. Before taking over at EEDA she was chief executive of St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

She worked briefly with current county council leader Mark Bee when she stood in as interim chief executive of Waveney District Council in early 2008. Mr Bee was Waveney leader at the time.

One of the other two candidates is also understood to come from Suffolk – and it is thought that it is likely to be current Suffolk Coastal District Council and Waveney District Council joint chief executive Stephen Baker.

Mr Baker has worked closely with Mr Bee since 2008, and has long experience of local government in Suffolk.

He joined Suffolk Coastal as chief executive in 2005 after spending three years in East Northamptonshire. He was previously a senior officer at Ipswich Borough Council.

The fourth candidate is understood to come from outside Suffolk.

Previous chief executives at the county council have come from inside and outside the organisation. Mrs Hill arrived from Bedfordshire, but her predecessor Mike More had been a director in Suffolk before being promoted.

His predecessor, Lin Homer, had come from Hertfordshire – although she was originally from Suffolk – and her predecessor Peter Bye had been promoted from within the organisation.

It is not clear whether an announcement about the new chief executive will be made on Wednesday evening or the following day.

The appointments board is chaired by Mr Bee and includes senior Conservatives Peter Beer and Joanna Spicer as well as Lib Dem opposition leader Kathy Pollard and Labour group leader Sandy Martin.

The county would like the new chief to take up the role as soon as possible – but if the successful candidate comes from an outside body he or she would probably have to work notice of up to three months and might not be able to start at Endeavour House until early in 2012.