MELBOURNE chief executive Peter Jackson is stepping down from his post at the end of 2018.

The Demons will appoint a new CEO later this year, with Jackson, who is retiring from full-time employment, to help oversee the transition into 2019.

Jackson, who signed a two-year deal to remain at the club until 2018, is contracted until October 31 but has agreed to remain at the club for as long as required into 2019 to assist with the handover. 

Melbourne has already started the process of identifying candidates for the CEO position. The club expects the process to take several months.

It is understood chief financial officer David Chippindall and football manager Josh Mahoney would be considered possible internal candidates for the role.

Jackson said the time was right to "pass the baton" over after five years in the job at Melbourne. 

"When I arrived at the club in May of 2013, I said that I couldn't do this role forever. Good leadership involves knowing when it is the right time to pass the baton to someone else and that time has now come for me," Jackson said in a statement. 

"The CEO role at any club is taxing and the time is right for me to step away from the 24/7 nature of full-time employment and move onto the next phase of my life.

"The length of the handover period will depend somewhat on the successful candidate but I look forward to working with that person to transition them into the role."

Chairman Glen Bartlett said he hoped the handover process went as efficiently as the transition from Paul Roos to Simon Goodwin as coach.

"As members would expect, the board is very mindful of the enormous contribution to this club Peter has made, and is also well aware of its ongoing responsibilities, in terms of succession planning for all key roles," Bartlett said.

"In this regard, a smooth transition has been achieved between Paul Roos and Simon Goodwin as senior coach and the board is determined that a similarly smooth transition to a high-quality successor is achieved in the role of CEO."

Jackson has been a key figure in the stabilisation of the club over the past five years, with the Demons recording their fourth consecutive profit in 2017.