The role, which places one of Scotland’s most highly-regarded and experienced senior bureaucrats atthe head of over 2000 personnel, includes overall responsibility for the £143m roll-out of Scotland’s superfast broadband infrastructure. The hands on overseeing of the roll-out however will remain Dr Mike Neilson' s portfolio (right) who has held the Enterprise and Environment portfolio since its creation a year ago.

Dr Neilson formerly held the positions of Marine director, director, Public Service Landscape Project and was acting Head of the Development department, director for Housing and Regeneration Group. He was also formerly responsible for sponsorship of the Water Industry in Scotland and worked previously at the UK Treasury and the European Commission on a wide range of issues including financial markets, the EU budget and European Transport policy.

An Edinburgh graduated geophysicist Dickson, 55, who takes up his role mid December spent 10 years in the international oil industry before joining HM Treasury, where his roles have included supervising health expenditure currently director of primary and community care. The Herald reports the promotion will see his salary increase from the current £90,000 to somewhere between £125,000 and £150,000, based on published figures for equivalent roles.

After joining HM Treasury in 1987, Dickson moved to the Scottish Office in 1994, where he worked in the NHS management executive. Subsequent Scottish Government roles included head of higher education, assistant director of finance and director of enterprise, energy and tourism. He is dubbed “One of the best [in the civil service], very business-like and very pro-business, someone who gets things done… extremely able and supportive "

The post of director-general for enterprise, environment and digital will require Mr Dickson to give “strategic direction” on economic, transport and energy policies, relationships with businesses as well as rural, marine and environmental issues and the appointment ended speculation that the Scottish Government might have used the experience of a private sector figure.

The Herald also reports that the civil service would have seen such a move as “very demoralising,” and that the new role concludes a year of upheaval and restructuring in the senior civil service in Scotland, amid criticisms that senior bureaucrats were failing to assert their traditional independence.

In January the Service was reorganised to facilitate a 10% reduction in Scotland’s administration budget, including a specific commitment to reduce the cost of the 243-strong senior civil service by 25% by 2014-15. So far this year there has been an estimated reduction of 13%, equal to £3.76m.