The team and the coach will both be saying farewell after the four-day game against Wellington at the Queenstown Events Centre starting today.
The Volts are unbeaten in the Plunket Shield but have not had enough outright or first-innings wins. They are fifth, on 22 points, and cannot reach leader Canterbury (33 points).
Hesson last year revealed this would be his sixth and final season as Otago coach.
Under him, Otago revived its cricket fortunes, winning the one-day title in 2007-08 and the twenty/20 trophy the following season.
Hesson's success has been recognised with his appointment as New Zealand A coach, indicating he is seen as a future leader of the Black Caps, and his inclusion in a Sparc coaching accelerator programme.
Yesterday, he confirmed his intention to move on, but would not say any more about his future.
"I'll wait till the end of the game and then start thinking about it. I've still got a job to do," Hesson said.
There has been speculation Hesson will look for a job with an English county, or perhaps be a contender for the soon-to-be-vacant Wellington gig. But it will remain pure speculation until Hesson makes his announcement.
"I don't really want to discuss my future just at the moment."
Four teams - Canterbury, Central (29 points), Northern (29) and Wellington (27) - remain in contention for the Plunket Shield.
Canterbury is at home to Northern and has the luxury of being able to protect its lead, while Central hosts Auckland in Napier.
Otago has not won the four-day title in close to quarter of a century, and slipped out of contention in the last round when it conceded 559 runs in Northern's first innings in Hamilton.
"Last week was disappointing," Hesson said. "We lost the toss on a tough wicket. Then I thought we played pretty well but we got batted out of the game.
"We've played good cricket this season and we want to finish on a high note this week.
"The guys have a lot of pride in their performance. We're disappointed we're not in the mix but we've got a first-class game to play for Otago and we want to play well."
Hesson has retained the same 12 from last week's game. Opener Aaron Redmond will seek a third consecutive 100, while left-arm bowler Neil Wagner will hope to add to his competition-leading 42 wickets.
Wellington has immediately welcomed back Black Caps bowlers Andy McKay and Luke Woodcock from the World Cup. They replace Dewayne Bowden and Michael Pollard.
Otago v Wellington
- Queenstown, starts today
• Otago: Craig Cumming (captain), Aaron Redmond, Shaun Haig, Neil Broom, Darren Broom, Derek de Boorder, Mark Craig, Neil Wagner, Ian Butler, Warren McSkimming, Nick Beard, Craig Smith.
• Wellington: Grant Elliott (captain), Joe Austin-Smellie, Mark Gillespie, Harry Boam, Andy McKay, Cameron Merchant, Stephen Murdoch, Neal Parlane, Jeetan Patel, Stewart Rhodes, Malaesaili Tugaga, Luke Woodcock.
