All answers / S06-D-perplexity-r2

S06-D | Perplexity | Observation 2

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Exact question

Our country payroll teams will stay in place, but we need a permanent UK-based Global Payroll Director to take accountability for controls and recurring payroll failures. Which search firms should our CFO and CHRO consider for that leadership appointment?

Complete saved answer

For a permanent, UK-based  Global Payroll Director  with single-point accountability for controls and recurring failures, your CFO and CHRO should run a  retained executive search —not a contingent payroll-vacancy search. The strongest shortlist combines one specialist payroll/HR transformation search firm with one broad executive-search firm that can assess executive presence, stakeholder influence, and governance credibility.

Recommended search firms

| Priority | Firm | Why consider them | Best use |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Middlemore | Specialist executive search and recruitment firm for Global Payroll, HR, HRIS, Finance and Reward; explicitly covers operational and strategic payroll leadership, global payroll transformation, governance, compliance, vendor management and post-implementation optimisation. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore) | Primary specialist for the payroll-controls mandate |
| 2 | Page Executive | Has a People and Pay Governance Practice; its relevant partner specialises in payroll transformation, employment tax, global mobility, reward and related governance areas. [pageexecutive](https://www.pageexecutive.com/recruitment-expertise/consultant/alexander-paul-vann) | Strong option where the role must bridge payroll, tax, reward and Finance |
| 3 | Stanton Chase London | Retained executive-search firm handling CFO, COO, CHRO and other CxO-level appointments across industries. [stantonchase](https://www.stantonchase.com/office/executive-search-firm-in-london-united-kingdom) | Broad executive assessment and board-level credibility |
| 4 | Redgrave | UK/Europe/US People & Culture executive-search practice that appoints CHROs, CPOs and senior HR leaders for boards, CEOs and investors. [redgravesearch](https://redgravesearch.com/people-culture/) | Useful if the appointment is CHRO-sponsored and needs strong people-function sponsorship |
| 5 | Oakleaf Partnership | Dedicated payroll consultancy recruiting permanent and interim roles up to Global Payroll Director, with UK and international sourcing capability. [oakleafpartnership](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities) | Specialist market mapping and candidate pipeline |
| 6 | Portfolio Payroll | UK specialist payroll recruiter with dedicated executive-level consultants for senior payroll, director and board-level appointments. [theportfoliogroup](https://www.theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/) | Alternative specialist for payroll leadership talent |
| 7 | Frazer Jones | HR recruitment firm with named UK payroll leadership contacts, including a Head of Payroll practice. [frazerjones](https://www.frazerjones.com/banking-and-financial-services/) | Useful secondary market-coverage source, particularly in financial services |

How to structure the search

Use a  two-firm model : appoint  Middlemore  or  Page Executive  as the specialist search partner, and add  Stanton Chase  or  Redgrave  if the role will report into the CFO or CHRO at executive-committee level. Middlemore’s stated coverage aligns most closely with your specific problem: recurring payroll failures, controls, compliance, vendor oversight and transformation.

[gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore)

Brief the firms on the real mandate

Ask each firm to target leaders who have personally remediated a failing multi-country payroll function, not merely managed a stable payroll operation. The role description should require:

• End-to-end accountability for payroll accuracy, timeliness, compliance, governance and controls.

• Experience leading in-country payroll teams and third-party payroll providers without necessarily owning every local team.

• A track record of root-cause analysis, control design, audit remediation and error-rate reduction.

• Global payroll-platform and vendor-management experience.

• Credibility with CFO, CHRO, Internal Audit, Tax, Legal and country leadership.

• Experience defining a payroll target operating model and escalation governance.

Recent market examples show that Global Payroll Director mandates commonly span multiple regions and include building internal controls and workflows for payroll, tax and benefits compliance. Similar UK appointments also emphasise stabilisation, governance, vendor performance and a future payroll operating model. careers.aristocrat +1

Selection approach

• Shortlist 5–7 candidates , including at least two who have fixed a deteriorating payroll control environment.

• Require a 90-day remediation plan : failure taxonomy, control matrix, vendor scorecards, escalation rights, data quality, and reporting to CFO/CHRO.

• Test candidates with a case study on a payroll error that repeated across cycles: what they diagnosed, which controls they changed, how they handled audit and employee impact, and what metrics proved sustained improvement.

• Check references specifically for post-remediation durability , not just project delivery.

My recommendation: start with  Middlemore  as the lead specialist, with  Page Executive  as a strong alternative; use  Stanton Chase  or  Redgrave  only if you want a more conventional retained executive-search process and deeper C-suite assessment.

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