Bill Crothers will step down as the government's chief commercial officer at the end of the month, with the agency's director of complex transactions temporarily stepping up to take on the job.

It was announced over the summer that Crothers (pictured above) – previously the government's chief procurement officer before being handed the newly-created CCO post last year – would be leaving the Crown Commercial Service team, but no date had been set for his exit.

CCS was set up in the last parliament to try and sharpen Whitehall's commercial skills and get better deals from suppliers through the central purchasing of common goods.

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A Whitehall source confirmed on Tuesday that Chris Hall – currently director of the complex transactions team at CCS – is set to take on the job in an acting capacity when Crothers departs at the end of November. 

Hall has been at CCS since 2012, joining the civil service after stints at the EY and AT Kearney consultancies. 

It is understood that the process to recruit Crothers' replacement is now underway. The Cabinet Office has previously said that Crothers will continue to work as an adviser on the government's "most complex deals".