Bobby Singleton is expected to be appointed Deputy Chief Constable.
The PSNI moved to fill the post after Mark Hamilton confirmed in September that he intended to retire.
Mr Hamilton, who had been second in command since 2020, had been absent from work since a medical procedure a year ago.
Chris Todd had been appointed as temporary deputy in October last year.
The post has a salary of around £195,000-£200,000, according to the latest PSNI accounts.
Mr Singleton had applied for the role of Chief Constable after Simon Byrne quit last year, but lost out to Jon Boutcher.
However, he is highly rated and is now expected to be appointed Deputy Chief Constable.
It is understood an announcement could be made by the Policing Board as early as Monday.
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Mr Singleton has been in the PSNI for more than two decades, joining as a student officer in November 2001.
Between 2014 and 2016 as a superintendent he was responsible for leading community policing services for Belfast. He was also a firearms and public order commander, leading complex and challenging multi-agency operations.
From April 2016 to May 2019, then a Detective Superintendent, he was the PSNI’s lead for drugs, organised crime and the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.
After being promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent, he was appointed head of the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch in May 2019 before taking up a role as the head of Headquarters Executive Support in October 2020.
In March 2021, and now Assistant Chief Constable, he was temporarily appointed head of the Community Safety Department, responsible for public protection, crime prevention, criminal justice and custody matters.
He first came to public attention in 2016 when the PSNI posted a photograph of him to Facebook, accompanied by a caption detailing safety advice for the upcoming Tennant’s Vital music festival.
The police officer caught the eye of social media users who took to the comments section to praise him for his looks, labelling him Superintendent Hot Stuff.
After the 2016 Facebook post, former Detective Superintendent Singleton, who officially became Assistant Chief Constable two years ago after serving in the role on a temporary basis, laughed off his newfound hunk status.
“Just another day at the office lol,” he had tweeted, adding that his fellow officers were “ensuring I’m kept well grounded.”
He then featured on the front of a Valentine’s card, created by Londonderry company Ferry Clever, in 2022.
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