She was chief executive of the former Cambridgeshire police authority and since 2012 headed the office of the police and crime commissioner but now Dorothy Grigson has moved permanently to the Department of Health.

Mrs Grigson was seconded last May to become deputy regional director and NHS regional director of public health for the East of England to help the response to the Corvid-19 pandemic.

Her £95,000 a year successor at the police and crime commissioner’s office is Jim Haylett, who has been acting chief executive.

He will now head a team that includes a chief finance officer, head of policy, head of strategic partnership, head of compliance, a communications and engagement manager, and more than 10 support staff.

Previous to holding the acting CEO position, Mr Haylett held several positions within the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner since joining in 2013, including deputy chief executive. Previous to joining the OPCC, he served as a police officer in South Yorkshire Police.

Acting police and crime commissioner Ray Bisby said: “Since May last year, Jim has provided consistent and stable leadership to staff within my office and has supported me in my role as acting commissioner.

“The last 12 months have brought unprecedented challenges to policing, with the onslaught of the pandemic and the need to respond to frequently changing legislation.

“Jim brings with him a wealth of strategic experience particularly within the areas of community safety and criminal justice.

Mr Bisby said: “I would like to thank Dorothy for the enormous contribution she has made over the years in managing my office, supporting myself and my two predecessors.

“Her passion, energy and dedication played a huge part in keeping our policing service as effective and efficient as it is today.”

One part of the chief executive's role is to “support the PCC in their oversight role of the Chief Constable’s day to day financial management of the constabulary”.

He will also ensure the PCC maintains “effective and timely engagement with the public, communities, representative groups and the media”.

The job description also required “strong analytical thinking and problem solving to be able to analyse and present complex and diverse information and contextual narrative to a range of audiences”.

Election of a new £71,500 a year police and crime commissioner take place on May 6.