He was equally divisive inside the party, where his Blairite past antagonised left-wing MPs and union leaders, most notably Unite general secretary Len McCluskey.

But despite a proven track record for generating friction, Murphy has now landed a job as a globe-trotting peacemaker - drawing on his experience in the referendum.

His current role with the Finnish non-profit organisation Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) is advising on “conflict resolution in central Asia”.

In September, Murphy, a former Europe minister and Scottish secretary, took part in a CMI workshop for government officials in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

Local media reported the title of the event as “The Complexity of Peace Processes: Learnings from Northern Ireland and Scotland cases”.

Murphy was quoted saying the legacy of violence in Northern Ireland made peace very hard.

But he went on: “In case of Scotland we had another situation. It was not resolution of violent conflict but resolution of conflicting views on whether Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom or not. And there were discussions, negotiations, referendum about that.”

Last week, Murphy was also in Georgia, the pro-Western former Soviet state in the Caucasus which was invaded by Russia in a five-day conflict in 2008.

As minister for Europe at the time, Murphy played a key role in the UK’s response to the crisis, standing in for Foreign Secretary David Miliband while the latter was on holiday.

One senior Labour insider who worked alongside Murphy said: “It’s totally ridiculous. Jim can’t even resolve his own conflict - between the belief that he’s good and his actual ability.

“He was divisive in the referendum and inside Labour. He could start a row in an empty house. The odds on civil war breaking out in Armenia and Georgia have just shortened considerably.”

Last month the Sunday Herald revealed Murphy, 48, had set up a one-man consultancy firm called Arden Strategies Ltd, despite his reputation for lacking a clear strategy in the election.

It has now emerged that he is also hawking himself to companies as a non-executive director.

The former Eastwood MP has signed up to the nonexecutivedirectors.com website, which charges boardroom wannabes £238 for a one-year subscription and £478 for three years.

Murphy’s profile on the website says he is a “recognised problem solver with exceptional communication skills, possesses a range of contacts across the political and public policy arena and is also a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council”.

The site, which claims to be responsible for two-thirds of non-executive placements in the UK, says non-execs typically earn £15,000 to £40,000 a year for 1 or 2 days work per month.

An SNP spokesman said: “We wish Mr Murphy well in this new venture. As a former Scottish Labour leader he will have plenty of experience of conflict - though perhaps less of its resolution."

Murphy’s feud with McCluskey was notorious in Labour circles. In 2013, McCluskey called for Murphy, then the shadow defence secretary, and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander to be sacked from Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet.

In the wake of the general election, in which Murphy presided over the loss of 40 of Scottish Labour’s 41 seats, McCluskey also blamed Murphy for the new Conservative government.

He said Scottish Labour had not only “lost Scotland, but I think they've been responsible for making certain that the Conservatives were back in power in Westminster".

Two days later, Murphy quit as Scottish Labour leader and took a parting shot at McCluskey, saying the party should not be governed by the "grudges and grievances" of one man.

Murphy did not respond to requests for comment.