NORTH Ayrshire Council chief executive Elma Murray has been tipped as a candidate for the top job at Glasgow City Council.

Ms Murray, who worked with the city authority until five years ago, has been named as one of the favourites to success current chief executive George Black, who plans to retire at the end of the year.

An article in a national newspaper this week named her as one of the top three frontrunners to lead Scotland’s biggest local authority.

Mr Black, who is paid £168,000 a year, will act as the returning officer for the poll on Scotland’s future on September 18.

The city council said the date of his departure and the process for choosing a successor will be announced later.

However, the move could see the city being run by its first female chief executive, with a number of existing senior council staff in the frame.

Glasgow’s current finance chief Lynn Brown has been named favourite to succeed Mr Black, followed by Anne-Marie O’Donnell, the current director of corporate affairs, Ms Murray was seen as third favourite for the job by the Herald newspaper, which reported: “Presently the chief executive of North Ayrshire, Ms Murray left Glasgow around five years ago where she was the head of service reform.

“She recently completed a stint as chair of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and many see her time in Ayrshire as a stepping stone to Glasgow.” Any successor is likely to face unprecedented challenges, with major spending cuts unlike anything experienced since devolution predicted for the public sector by next year.

A council source told the newspaper: “Look at what we do.

"We deliver services to a population of about 600,000 people, have an annual budget of £2.3billion and employ about 30,000 people, with associated organisations.

“It is someone with experience at that level you are looking at.

“Secondly, given Scottish local government pays considerably less than south of the Border you are looking at someone from the pool up here, in all likelihood.”