Inspector, formerly a pit worker (8)
I believe the answer is:
examiner
'inspector' is the definition.
(I know that inspector can be written as examiner)
'formerly a pit worker' is the wordplay.
'formerly' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'pit worker' becomes 'miner' (miners work down pits).
'ex'+'a'+'miner'='EXAMINER'
(Other definitions for examiner that I've seen before include "He gives you paper" , "Assessor" , "Who judges" , "Meaner XI (anag)" , "One looks for information" .)