All answers / S10-D-claude-r1
S10-D | Claude | Observation 1
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Exact question
Our CFO needs six months of UK-based global payroll leadership cover, while our talent team recruits the permanent head. Which recruitment partners could handle both senior briefs and help us plan a workable handover?
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Frazer Jones and Middlemore look like the strongest fits for running both briefs, with Robert Walters, Robert Half and Hays as broader or more interim-heavy options. I haven’t verified any firm’s current interim bench or retained-search track record, so treat this as a shortlist to test.
Specialist firms that cover both interim and permanent
• Frazer Jones is the most obvious fit. It describes itself as a global HR recruitment and executive search consultancy, offering executive search, permanent and interim payroll recruitment. It is headquartered in the City of London. It also appears to split the work between consultants, with a payroll director focused on interim hires across the UK. That separation could help you, provided the interim and search teams coordinate. [Book a consultation +2](https://www.frazerjones.com/?p=140035)
• Middlemore is a specialist executive search firm. It covers global payroll, HR, HRIS and finance, with services spanning executive search, permanent, contract and interim solutions, talent mapping and salary benchmarking. The talent mapping is useful for your permanent search, and its transformation and vendor-management focus suits a global payroll head. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore)
• Robert Walters is active in global payroll interim work, including a current listing for a Global Payroll Implementation Lead on a 12/18-month contract. That suggests a bench of senior interims, though I couldn’t confirm its retained-search depth in payroll. [robertwalters](https://www.robertwalters.co.uk/humanresources/jobs/rewardcompensationbenefits/1898940-global-payroll-implementation-lead---1218-months-ftc.html)
• Robert Half and Hays are large generalists with interim management arms. Their payroll listings I found were mostly manager-level, so ask them to prove senior-leadership depth.
What the market looks like
Your set-up is a familiar one. A Frazer Jones listing described interim cover for a global payroll operations leader while the client recruits a permanent head, at £500-600 per day for 3-6 months. That listing dates from 2023, so rates have probably moved. Ask each firm for current day-rate benchmarks and expect interim leaders to have to be sourced quickly.
[personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401667189/global-payroll-operations-leader/)
Choosing between them
• Ask each firm to name the specific consultants for the interim and the search, and how they will share information.
• Ask for two or three recent examples of senior global payroll interim placements, plus a retained-search placement at head level.
• Check conflict handling. If one firm places the interim, it may be tempted to push that person for the permanent role.
• Clarify fees. Interim is usually a margin on the day rate, while retained search is staged. Ask whether either firm will discount for taking both briefs.
• Check IR35 handling, as senior interim roles are often assessed as inside IR35.
A workable handover plan
1. Weeks 0-2: Agree the interim’s mandate: run the payroll cycle, maintain governance and controls, manage vendors, and document the state of play. Keep it separate from transformation unless you want a change agent.
2. Weeks 2-6: The interim produces a function health check covering country footprint, vendors, risks and team gaps. This becomes the basis for the permanent job spec and candidate briefings.
3. Months 2-4: The interim stays out of the permanent selection but supports candidate conversations about the function.
4. Final 4-6 weeks: Plan an overlap with the permanent hire, covering at least one full payroll cycle. Build in notice periods, since senior permanent candidates often need three to six months. A six-month interim is tight, so agree an extension option upfront.
I can draft a brief for the agencies or a comparison questionnaire if that would help.
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