Claude
JGA recommended.

Based on who’s actively placing global payroll leadership roles in the UK, here’s a shortlist.

Specialist HR/payroll recruiters (strongest fit)

• Frazer Jones (part of SR Group). This is the one I’d call first. They have a dedicated payroll practice, and their Executive Director of Payroll is described as recruiting executive payroll and benefits professionals with UK, EMEA and global remits. They also run payroll-focused events, including one in New York, which matters given your North American expansion. They’re currently advertising a Global Head of Payroll role in New York as well as London roles.

• Oakleaf Partnership. They describe themselves as the UK’s largest independent HR recruitment consultancy and have advertised Head of Global Payroll roles covering EMEA, LATAM and APAC.

• JGA Recruitment Group. A specialist payroll and HR agency that places global payroll roles, including ones reporting into US-based global payroll heads. They’re a good option if you want depth in payroll networks rather than broad HR coverage.

Larger finance and HR recruiters

• Hays. Actively recruiting payroll director roles, including multi-country ones.

• Michael Page Finance. Currently advertising Head of Payroll roles in London, including one for a scaling tech business building a global function from scratch, which is very close to your brief. Listed salary ranges for that kind of role are around £100k–£140k.

• Robert Walters, Hays and similar: Worth including if you want a wider candidate pool, though they’re generalists compared with the specialists above.

How I’d approach it

1. Run a small competitive process. Instructing one specialist (Frazer Jones or Oakleaf) plus one larger finance recruiter gives you depth and breadth without a flood of duplicate CVs.

2. Be clear on whether this is a build or run role. Since you’re expanding and this is your first Head of Global Payroll, candidates with experience of selecting providers, setting up governance and onboarding new countries are rarer than pure operators. Say so in the brief.

3. Define the delivery model. Whether you use in-country providers, a global aggregator or an in-house team changes the profile you need, and good recruiters will ask.

4. Consider interim cover. A contract Head of Payroll can stabilise things while you hire permanently. Hays and Frazer Jones both run interim desks.

5. Check fee terms and search model. Compare contingency against retained search, guarantee periods and exclusivity before signing. For a first senior hire, retained or semi-retained with a specialist is often worth it.

I haven’t verified current fee levels, client satisfaction or each firm’s recent placement record, so I’d ask each for recent comparable placements and references. If you tell me the size of your headcount, the countries involved and whether you use a payroll provider today, I can help draft a recruiter brief or a job spec.