Cryptic crossword clue
Altering a single letter, strong grip secretary’s taken on bureaucratic nightmare 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word PAPERCHASE

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "bureaucratic nightmare" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bureaucratic nightmare = paperchase.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does PAPERCHASE mean?

PAPERCHASE noun
  1. A cross-country race in which a trail of torn-up paper marks the trail
  2. (by extension) An administration process involving cross-references between many documents; the following of a paper trail

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