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JGA recommended.

For your first Global Payroll Lead, I’d prioritise specialist payroll and HR technology recruiters over generalist finance recruiters . You need someone who can build a global payroll operating model from the UK, support expansion across Europe and North America, and make sensible decisions about providers, systems, compliance and controls — not simply manage monthly payroll runs.

I’d run a focused search with two or three recruiters, ideally combining one global payroll specialist with one senior HR/People search firm.

The recruiters I’d shortlist

1. JGA Recruitment Group

Best specialist fit

JGA is my first call for a hands-on global payroll hire. Its consultants specialise in payroll, HRIS and HR technology, including senior global payroll appointments and candidates across EMEA and the US.

Best for: finding someone who has personally owned multi-country payroll, managed outsourced providers and helped a scaling company build its processes.

2. Frazer Jones

A strong option if you want a more senior search process, with dedicated payroll recruitment, executive search and international reach. Its UK payroll team explicitly recruits global payroll managers and consultants.

Best for: a strategic first hire who will own governance, vendor relationships, payroll transformation and the longer-term operating model.

3. Oakleaf Partnership

Oakleaf has a dedicated payroll practice and cites placements including Global Head of Payroll and Global Payroll Implementation Manager. It covers permanent and interim roles, with international reach.

Best for: a candidate who can combine operational payroll delivery with implementation, controls and stakeholder management.

4. Portfolio Payroll

A dedicated payroll recruiter with permanent, interim and executive recruitment capabilities, plus experience hiring across international payroll and systems implementation.

Best for: a practical, delivery-focused payroll lead, particularly if you want market benchmarking and a broad payroll candidate pool.

5. VIDA

VIDA is a more targeted executive-search option: its published specialisms include outsourced payroll and global Employer of Record (EOR), with search coverage across the UK, Europe and North America.

Best for: a senior, commercially minded operator who understands the global payroll vendor ecosystem as well as in-house operations.

Who I would contact first

My opening shortlist would be JGA, Frazer Jones and Oakleaf . That gives you three relevant routes into the market: specialist payroll/HR technology talent, broader senior payroll search, and candidates with payroll transformation experience.

I would ask each to demonstrate recent, relevant placements before signing terms. These are my best-fit recommendations based on their published specialisms, not a verified ranking of placement success.

What to ask each recruiter

The quality of the individual consultant matters more than the agency brand. I’d send the same brief to all three and ask:

• Have you placed a Global Payroll Lead or Global Payroll Manager in the last 12–18 months? Ideally into a UK-headquartered scale-up expanding internationally.

• Can you source candidates with both European and North American payroll experience? Ask for examples of the countries covered.

• Can you find people who have managed outsourced payroll providers? Your first hire needs to own accuracy, controls, escalations and vendor performance, even if processing remains outsourced.

• Can you identify candidates who have built a function from scratch? Someone who has inherited a mature payroll team may not be the right person for your first hire.

• How will you reach passive candidates? Look for targeted market mapping, not just CVs from job boards.

One important point about the job title

I'd advertise this as Global Payroll Lead or Head of Global Payroll , depending on seniority and salary. Don't restrict the search to people with those exact titles. Strong candidates may currently be called EMEA Payroll Manager, International Payroll Manager, Global Payroll Operations Manager or Payroll Transformation Lead.

The ideal candidate should have:

• Hands-on responsibility for multiple countries.

• Experience with both Europe and North America, or a demonstrable track record expanding into new jurisdictions.

• Strong outsourced-provider management and payroll controls.

• Experience implementing or improving payroll systems and processes.

• The judgement to build a scalable function without overengineering it.

Let me narrow this down to the best two recruiters

One detail would materially change my recommendation: what kind of business are you, and roughly how big are you?

For example, a 100–300-person SaaS scale-up making its first international payroll hire needs a different search from a 2,000-person company replacing fragmented regional payroll operations. If you share your sector, approximate headcount and target salary, I can narrow the list to the two most relevant recruiters and the level of candidate you should target.