Agent's failure during dodgy year (8)
I believe the answer is:
emissary
'agent's' is the definition.
(an emissary is an agent or representative)
'failure during dodgy year' is the wordplay.
'failure' becomes 'miss' (miss is a kind of failure).
'during' is an insertion indicator.
'dodgy' indicates anagramming the letters (a dodgy or wrong order of the letters).
'year' anagrammed gives 'eary'.
'miss' going into 'eary' is 'EMISSARY'.
(Other definitions for emissary that I've seen before include "one dispatched officially" , "Agent sent on a mission" , "Messenger, envoy" , "I'm sent!" , "Someone sent on a mission" .)