Discredited ex-RBS chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin has been appointed as a consultant with the architectural firm responsible for creating the athletes' village at Glasgow's Commonwealth Games.

RMJM was also involved in the design of the controversial Scottish Parliament building and during the Fraser Inquiry probe into the cost over-runs, some of their key staff were grilled over the project.

The company said Sir Fred would be advising them on international strategy and will be based in Edinburgh but will spend the vast majority of his time overseas. He will not be on the RMJM board but will join four or five other members of the senior advisory panel of the business.

Sir Fred, who came under fire when he left the struggling Royal Bank of Scotland in October 2008 with a £650,000 a year pension and £2.7million lump sum, will work as an advisor ahead of the 2014 event.

It is the first appointment the controversial ex-banker has secured since he stepped down from RBS under a hail of criticism.

The Government pumped £20billion of public money into the struggling bank after RBS made a UK record annual pre-tax loss of £24.1billion in 2008, widely blamed on the disastrous strategy of corporate acquisition pursued by the former chief executive.

Sir Fred caused public outcry when he refused to make any change to his pension, despite playing a part in the near-collapse of the banking giant.

After stepping down from his post, he initially rejected UK Government pressure to accept a reduction in his package, insisting that changes to the early retirement deal he negotiated when he was forced out were "not warranted".

The massive payout was branded "obscene" and "grotesque" by MPs and "unjustifiable and unacceptable" by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

But last year he finally agreed to take a 38% cut in his pension.

His new employer would not comment on Sir Fred's pay package, though said it was in line with that of the existing senior advisers to the business.

In recent months, Paisley-born "Fred the Shred" saw his Edinburgh property vandalised, his knighthood questioned and an artist's effigy of his head on a spike displayed in London as he became a magnet for public fury over fat-cat pay amid a financial crisis that helped bring on recession.

Sir Fred, who attended grammar school in Paisley and later studied at the University of Glasgow, is married with two children, and was knighted for his services to banking in 2004.

A spokesman for RMJM said: "We have appointed Sir Fred as an advisor to the business. Working closely with our executive team, Fred will be advising on our ongoing international strategy.

"He has a huge amount of international business experience. This is a rare set and one which is valuable and relevant to RMJM.

"It will be of great benefit to us as we seek to build further on our position as the 5th largest architectural firm in the world with operations in five continents."

RMJM, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, has also worked on the design of the Falkirk Wheel.

At the Games the firm aims to create 700 homes and related accommodation for up to 8,000 athletes and officials, transforming a run down 38 hectare site in the East End of Glasgow into a riverside residential area. Work on the design is due to start this year, finishing six months before the Games begin.