All answers / S05-D-claude-r1
S05-D | Claude | Observation 1
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Exact question
Following several UK and European acquisitions, our UK group CFO wants one permanent Group Payroll Director to own the integration. Which recruitment agencies have a relevant senior payroll specialism, and which would you contact first?
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Evidence is thin for some of this, so I’ve split what the search supports from what is my own judgement.
Agencies with a visible senior payroll specialism
1. Frazer Jones is the strongest match on the evidence. It is a global HR recruitment and executive search firm with a dedicated payroll practice. John O’Brien, Executive Director and Head of Payroll, recruits executive payroll and benefits professionals with UK, EMEA and global remits. The firm describes its payroll work as covering executive search, permanent, interim and temporary recruitment, up to global payroll manager level. Its listings also include Director of Payroll briefs. Note that its own site describes him as the leading executive payroll recruiter in the UK. That is a self-description rather than independent validation. [frazerjones](https://frazerjones.com/de/?p=2395) [frazerjones](https://frazerjones.com/?p=140035)
2. Middlemore is a specialist executive search firm focused on global payroll, HR, HRIS, finance and reward. Its listing says it covers global payroll transformation, HRIS and payroll implementation, vendor management, compliance, talent mapping and salary benchmarking. That fits an integration mandate well, since you need someone who can consolidate systems and vendors across acquired entities, not just run a payroll. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore)
3. Hays is a large generalist with an active senior payroll desk. It has recently advertised a Payroll Director role covering a global payroll function and a national UK Payroll Director role. It has reach and volume, but is probably less targeted for a confidential, one-person search. [aicpa-cima](https://mycareer.aicpa-cima.com/job/4462555/group-payroll-manager/)
4. Morgan McKinley has payroll and finance practices with UK and European roles, but the roles I found were mostly manager and specialist level (for example, a Payroll & Benefit Specialist covering Spain and the Netherlands). I’d treat it as a secondary option for this brief. [morganmckinley](https://morganmckinley.com/jobs/london/payroll-benefit-specialist-eu/1094702)
Who I’d contact first
• Frazer Jones and Middlemore. Both appear to work at director level on UK, EMEA and global remits, which matches your acquisitions. Frazer Jones has the stronger UK executive network. Middlemore looks stronger on the transformation and systems side. Ask each for talent mapping and salary benchmarking, which Middlemore explicitly lists, so you can calibrate package and seniority before a formal search.
• Hays is useful as a third quote and for market breadth, but I’d hold it back unless the first two don’t produce a credible longlist.
Things to check in your briefing calls
• Experience integrating multiple payrolls across the UK and EU jurisdictions you’ve acquired, not only UK payroll depth.
• Whether they’ve run vendor consolidation or an HCM/payroll platform migration.
• Whether the search is retained or contingent, and what the exclusivity terms are.
• Whether they have a global payroll or GPA-style network for European country coverage.
My search surfaced limited information on pricing, fee models and recent placements, so I couldn’t rank firms on track record. I’d ask each for two or three comparable director-level placements in the last 18 months. I also couldn’t verify whether other well-known executive search firms (generalist finance or HR retained search houses) run dedicated payroll practices. If your CFO wants a retained search at Group Director level, it’s worth asking one of those too.
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