All answers / S02-A-perplexity-r2

S02-A | Perplexity | Observation 2

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Exact question

We need to confidentially replace our UK-based Global Payroll Director. We cannot advertise the vacancy or alert the current team. Which recruitment firms should we approach for a discreet senior payroll search?

Complete saved answer

Start with  Portfolio Payroll’s executive-search team , then consider The Leppington Group as a specialist alternative. Both have published evidence connecting senior payroll recruitment with discreet search. For a UK-based, in-house Global Payroll Director replacement, that is a stronger starting point than a general recruitment campaign. Neither firm’s website, however, establishes that it can guarantee secrecy or has recently completed an identical mandate; test those points before sharing identifying information. theportfoliogroup +1

Firms to approach

| Firm | Why it belongs on your shortlist | What to establish before instructing it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Portfolio Payroll — Executive Search | The closest documented match. Its dedicated executive-search team specialises in senior payroll placements and explicitly says it works discreetly. Its published coverage includes Payroll Directors, international payroll leadership and Global Head of Payroll & Benefits roles. London contact: 020 7247 9455. theportfoliogroup +1 | Ask for the consultant who personally handles confidential global payroll leadership searches—not a standard vacancy-registration process. Request examples of comparable in-house appointments and a written no-advertising search plan. |
| The Leppington Group — TLG Talent | A specialist payroll and payroll-technology network offering “Discreet & Confidential Search.” It explicitly covers senior roles including Head of Payroll, Global Payroll Manager and Payroll Operations Director, including leadership in complex, multi-country environments. It describes its approach as introductions from a trusted network rather than traditional recruitment. [theleppingtongroup](https://www.theleppingtongroup.com/payroll-talent) | Establish whether its network can produce a sufficiently broad Global Payroll Director shortlist, whether it undertakes structured market mapping beyond known contacts, and who will own candidate outreach. |
| Morgan McKinley — Executive Search / HR leadership | A broader alternative with an explicitly discreet and confidential executive-search service, international senior-talent access and talent mapping. Its UK HR recruitment page describes an executive-search division supported by offices across 14 regions. The evidence is stronger for confidential HR leadership search than for this exact payroll specialism. [morganmckinley](https://www.morganmckinley.com/uk/employers/recruitment-solutions/hr-recruitment) | Require evidence of recent Global Payroll Director or Global Head of Payroll appointments and identify the payroll specialist who would work alongside the search lead. |
| Antal International — Executive & Confidential Search | An option if you want a retained, cross-border search process: it explicitly offers discreet retained searches and market mapping for sensitive senior appointments. Its published service description does not, by itself, demonstrate specialist global payroll placement experience. [antal](https://www.antal.com/recruitment-services/personalised-solutions) | Ask which named partner has delivered comparable payroll leadership searches, which countries they can map directly, and how confidentiality is controlled across offices. |

The questions in the final column are recommended due-diligence requirements, not verified capabilities of the firms.

How I would run the approach

My recommendation is to hold private qualification calls with Portfolio and TLG first, then appoint one accountable search partner if either demonstrates the necessary global reach. Keep Morgan McKinley or Antal as alternatives if the specialist firms cannot evidence comparable mandates.

For your particular constraint, I would make the following contractual requirements explicit:

• No advertising or public signals: no job-board listings, website vacancies, LinkedIn posts, public talent campaigns or identifiable social-media activity.

• Controlled disclosure: use an anonymised brief initially; agree exactly when the employer’s name can be disclosed and to whom.

• Named access only: limit the brief to the lead consultant and an agreed researcher, with one authorised contact on your side.

• Outreach approval: approve the target-company list, exclusion list and initial approach wording before anyone contacts candidates.

• No contact with your current team: prohibit approaches to current employees and informal “market referencing” that could alert them.

• References only with permission: require written approval before any reference or back-channel enquiry.

• Conflict checks before disclosure: ask about existing relationships with your organisation, the incumbent and target employers, including any restrictions on whom the firm can approach.

These are proposed safeguards—not assurances that any recruiter can eliminate the risk of the incumbent learning about the search.

What to say in the first call

“We are assessing a confidential, non-advertised search for a UK-based Global Payroll Director. The incumbent is in post and the current team must not be approached or alerted. Before we disclose the employer, please identify the partner who would lead the assignment, provide anonymised examples of comparable multi-country payroll leadership searches, and explain your confidentiality, conflicts and candidate-outreach controls.”

One important distinction: do not confuse payroll-industry executive search with recruitment for an internal payroll function. For example, VIDA has relevant payroll-sector expertise, but its published focus is senior leadership within outsourced payroll, payroll software and Global EOR businesses. I would prioritise it only if your role sits within that provider-side context.

[vida-cs](https://vida-cs.com/payroll)

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