There is no doubt local government has more than its fair share of high-pressure roles in the upper echelons of authorities across the country.
A decade of austerity has highlighted the importance of those holding the purse strings. Mounting demand for care is being encountered by adult and children’s service chiefs and chief executives must get to grips with a sector undergoing monumental change.
But what about monitoring officers?
From the smallest of parish councils to the largest of metropolitan authorities, officers have spoken of cases in which colleagues have been caught in power struggles between senior officers, or fallen victim to the increasingly raucous behaviour of elected members.