Snub involving head held up as focus of attention (9)
I believe the answer is:
spotlight
'focus of attention' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'snub involving head held up' is the wordplay.
'snub' becomes 'slight' (I've seen this before).
'involving' indicates putting letters inside.
'head' becomes 'top' ('top' can be a synonym of 'head'**).
'held up' says the letters should be written backwards.
'top' in reverse letter order is 'pot'.
'slight' placed around 'pot' is 'SPOTLIGHT'.
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for spotlight that I've seen before include "Illumination focused on small area" , "Direct attention to" , "Beam directed on small area or on stage performer" , "put in the public eye" , "Focus" .)