A senior director at Aberdeen City Council has resigned following a period of suspension.
Frank McGhee was hired by the local authority in December 2017 on a salary of £115,000 to head up commissioning as part of restructure.
In his role he was responsible for ensuring all of the services provided by the council met with local authority priorities.
Earlier this month, however, it emerged he had been suspended by council bosses, although the reason is at this time unclear.
Employees have now been told that Mr McGhee has resigned his position- meaning the high profile post will need to be filled again.
A council spokeswoman confirmed he had stood down.
In a brief statement she said: “The council’s director of commissioning, Frank McGhee, has resigned from his position at Aberdeen City Council.”
The former director of integrated commissioning at Derby Council was announced with fanfare when given his role.
Part of a team of four, his job was to help implement the controversial new target operating model (TOM) of the council, which aims to save the authority £125 million over five years.
Mr McGhee has more than 30 years experience working in the public sector, including two national adviser roles for government departments.
Tommy Campbell, Unite union regional official, said he hoped for greater transparency from the council on the issue, adding that securing answers was “like getting blood from a stone”.