Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to work with others to "build a better country" after she was confirmed as Scotland's First Minister-in-waiting.

The SNP announced this morning that she was the only candidate to succeed Alex Salmond as SNP leader.

Ms Sturgeon's new role will not be officially confirmed until the SNP conference next month, and her appointment as First Minister will be approved by the Scottish Parliament, with the assent of the Queen, shortly after that.

She will become Scotland's fifth First Minister since Holyrood was set up in 1999, and will also be the first woman to take on the top job.

Mr Salmond announced his intention to step down as both SNP leader and First Minister after last month's referendum saw Scotland reject independence and vote to remain in the United Kingdom.

Today, Ms Sturgeon pledged she would work to ensure Holyrood gets the "extensive" new powers that were pledged by the leaders of the three main Westminster parties in the run-up to the referendum.

She said her Government would make job creation, fairness and the protection of public services its priorities, as she vowed that as First Minster she would be "open, accessible and determined to work with others across the political divide to find common cause and build a better country".

She said: "It is a privilege to have been chosen by the SNP to succeed Alex Salmond as party leader. Alex is a hard act to follow but I am determined to lead the SNP - and the country - from strength to strength.

"The SNP was re-elected in 2011 on the basis of our record as a good government. My job will to be to build on that record and deliver strong, competent government with job creation, fairness and the protection of high quality public services at its heart. If elected by Parliament to be the next First Minister, that will be my priority each and every day that I hold office.

"I will also work to ensure that the Scottish Parliament gets the extensive new powers that Scotland was promised before the referendum. I will always make the case for Scotland to be an independent country but, with the Westminster parties already backsliding on the delivery of new powers, my immediate job will be to hold them firmly to account - and I am today putting them on notice that I intend to do just that."

Ms Sturgeon also announced a series of rallies across Scotland to set out her vision to the tens of thousands of new members who have joined the SNP. Prior to the referendum the party had about 25,000 members, but that total has now topped 80,000.

"The SNP that I will lead has grown dramatically in recent weeks and we are now the third largest political party in the UK," Ms Sturgeon said.

"We are in great heart as we look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead."

Mr Salmond said he had "no words of advice" for his successor.

"Nicola is well capable of dealing with any events in the future," he said.

"But what I would like to say is congratulations to her, I think she will be an outstanding leader of the Scottish National Party and an outstanding first minister of Scotland.

"Of course that has to be elected by the parliament, but I think Scotland's first woman first minister will be an outstanding first minister."

Mr Salmond, who was speaking at a Scottish Trades Union Congress event in Glasgow, has said he intends to continue in politics following his official resignation as First Minister and SNP leader.

However, he declined to reveal any more detail about his future plans when pressed on the matter today.

The SNP confirmed this morning that Ms Sturgeon is the only candidate for the job of party leader, and that she will be appointed to the role unopposed.

Party business convener Derek Mackay said: ''I am delighted that Nicola Sturgeon will succeed Alex Salmond as leader of the SNP.

''She will be a fantastic new leader of both the party and our country. She will build on the substantial legacy and extraordinary achievements of Alex Salmond as the longest-serving first minister, and make her own mark as she leads Scotland forward.''

While Ms Sturgeon was the only candidate for the top job, there are three people vying to replace her as the party's deputy leader.

They are Keith Brown, the Holyrood Transport and Veterans Minister, Angela Constance, the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women's Employment, and MP Stewart Hosie, deputy leader of the party's group in Westminster and its Treasury spokesman in the Commons.

Mr Brown claims the support of more than half of Holyrood's SNP MSPs, including a clutch of Government ministers, as well as a number of councillors and senior grassroots organisers.

But Ms Constance has made a direct appeal to the tens of thousands of new members who joined the SNP in the wake of the referendum, while Mr Hosie wants to secure the maximum number of SNP MPs at the next general election, which he says should not be seen as a re-run of the referendum but an opportunity to hold the Westminster's ''feet to the fire'' over pledges of further devolution.

The result of the deputy leadership election will be declared at the SNP conference on November 14, when the new leader and her deputy will assume their posts.

Mr Mackay said he was ''delighted that there is a choice of three top-quality candidates'' for the deputy leadership.

He said: ''The party is in great heart and relishing the opportunities ahead. We enjoy a lead in voting intentions for both the next Westminster and Holyrood elections, with a record number of members bringing new energy, commitment and enthusiasm to our ranks.

''Where there was deep disappointment at not winning the referendum, there is now a real focus on ensuring that Westminster delivers on its vow to deliver extensive new powers for Scotland, so that we can build a fairer and more prosperous country.

''We can look forward with great optimism to our new leadership team taking forward this work in the best interests of Scotland.''

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: "I warmly welcome and congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on the confirmation that she will be the new leader of the SNP and believe it to be a positive step that the three main parties in Scotland will all be led by women."

But she said that after a "divisive" referendum, politicians "must now work to heal and unite Scotland".

Ms Lamont continued: "Tours of the country speaking to your own supporters will only do so much. If, as expected, Nicola Sturgeon is voted in as First Minister she will have to lead the whole country, not just those that vote SNP.

"It is now important that she accepts the settled will of the Scottish people and works constructively with all parties to ensure that we strengthen devolution and bring the change the country wants. All parties must now refrain from playing politics with the constitution.

"Scottish Labour will continue to hold the Government to account over issues such as childcare and the pressures faced by doctors and nurses across the country. It is to be hoped that Nicola Sturgeon will answer more questions than the leader she succeeds."

Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said Ms Sturgeon would become SNP leader "completely unopposed, without so much as a peep from anyone else".

He said: "For all Sturgeon's claims about relishing a fight for the leadership, there was never much danger of that.

"It's also astonishing that Nicola Sturgeon is planning to celebrate her coronation with her own vanity trip around the country - no doubt hoping the streets will be paved with cheering SNP loyalists.

"Going on some pointless jaunt to receive empty platitudes from your supporters is hardly the conduct of a statesmanlike First Minister-in-waiting."