ChatGPT
JGA recommended.

For a UK-based Head of Global Payroll who will support expansion across Europe and North America, I would focus on recruiters who can do more than fill a vacancy: they should help you shape the remit, benchmark the level and compensation, map the talent market, and identify leaders with genuine cross-border payroll experience.

The strongest evidence is a combination of published senior payroll placements, a named consultant specialising in global payroll, documented international recruitment capability, and examples of work on payroll transformation or newly created roles.

Recruitment firms to shortlist

I would start with these five firms. They offer different combinations of payroll specialism, executive search and international reach; the evidence below comes from their public websites and published recruitment assignments, rather than an independent audit of their results.

1. Middlemore

Best for specialist global payroll leadership and transformation

Middlemore explicitly recruits payroll professionals from analyst through director and VP level across the UK, EMEA and US. Its published scope covers strategic payroll leadership, global payroll transformation, HRIS implementation, governance, vendor management and post-implementation optimisation. Middlemore

Public evidence: Its [Global Payroll Search practice](https://middlemore.co.uk/payroll-search/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) describes a dedicated payroll network and work spanning operational and strategic leadership.

Why engage: Ask it to define the balance between payroll operations, transformation, vendor strategy and international expansion before beginning the search. Its public service description is a close match to your remit, although I did not find a named placement case study for this exact position.

2. JGA Recruitment Group

Best for global payroll and HR technology expertise

JGA has a dedicated payroll and HR-tech recruitment practice. Its published team profile for Tom Croughton describes specialisation in global payroll, senior leadership hiring, payroll technology and support for organisations scaling internationally. JGA Recruitment +1

Public evidence: [Tom Croughton's profile](https://jgarecruitment.com/meet-the-team/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) documents experience across the US, EMEA and APAC, including senior executive appointments. JGA also lists Global Payroll Director, Global Payroll Transformation Manager and Head of Payroll among roles it regularly recruits.

Why engage: Particularly relevant if you expect the new leader to select or optimise Workday, ADP, UKG or another global payroll platform, build scalable controls, and manage outsourced providers.

3. Oakleaf Partnership

Best for proven senior payroll placements

Oakleaf publishes a dedicated payroll recruitment practice covering Global Payroll Directors, implementation leaders and Heads of Payroll, with UK and international sourcing capability. Oakleaf +1

Public evidence: Its [payroll capabilities page](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities?utm_source=chatgpt.com) lists completed placements including Global Head of Payroll in FX trading and real estate, as well as an interim Head of Payroll in asset management. It also reports that 35% of payroll positions registered over the preceding three years were at senior or management level.

Why engage: These examples provide tangible evidence of relevant senior appointments. Ask how it would adapt that experience to a newly created role spanning North America and multiple European jurisdictions.

4. Frazer Jones

Best for international reach and talent-market benchmarking

Frazer Jones recruits across payroll at multiple seniority levels and offers executive search, permanent and interim hiring. It states that it operates across four continents and can support international searches. Frazer Jones +1

Public evidence: Its [payroll recruitment practice](https://www.frazerjones.com/payroll/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) describes international payroll hiring and advice on the scope and market availability of newly created roles. Its published market commentary also discusses cross-border hiring trends across the UK and North America. Frazer Jones Pulse Q2 2024 +1

Why engage: Useful if you want a wider candidate map, compensation benchmarking and comparisons between UK-based candidates and leaders working in North America or continental Europe. Ask for the payroll-specific experience of the proposed lead consultant.

5. Page Executive

Best for role design, seniority and organisational positioning

Page Executive has a particularly relevant specialist: Alexander Paul Vann, who leads its UK People and Pay Governance practice and covers international payroll, payroll transformation, employment tax and global mobility. Page Executive

Public evidence: [Vann's published profile](https://www.pageexecutive.com/recruitment-expertise/consultant/alexander-paul-vann?utm_source=chatgpt.com) explicitly offers greenfield role positioning, compensation benchmarking, team structuring and recruitment/search. His published track record includes a Head of Payroll Transformation appointment at a FTSE 10 organisation.

Why engage: A strong option if you need to determine whether this should be a Head, Director or VP-level position, decide where it sits between Finance and HR, and build a compelling proposition for senior candidates. Confirm the extent of his direct global payroll leadership-placement experience before appointing him.

How I would choose between them

| Your priority | Firms to invite to an initial discussion |

| --- | --- |

| Global payroll operating model and transformation | Middlemore, JGA |

| Evidence of completed senior payroll placements | Oakleaf, Page Executive |

| International talent mapping and market benchmarking | Frazer Jones, Page Executive |

| Newly created role and organisational design | Page Executive, Middlemore |

These are matches to your stated requirements, not a verified ranking of recruitment performance. The public evidence is strongest for specialist practice coverage and stated placement experience; it does not independently establish candidate quality, success rates or current availability.

Define the role before commissioning the search

I would ask each firm to help produce a role specification covering six areas.

1. Geographic scope

Which European countries and North American jurisdictions are in scope now, and which are planned next? Specify employee numbers, payroll frequency, currencies and expected expansion.

2. Operating model

Establish whether the role owns in-house payroll, outsourced country providers, a global payroll aggregator, or a hybrid model. Include employer-of-record arrangements if relevant.

3. Compliance and controls

Define accountability for local payroll tax, statutory filings, reconciliations, audit readiness, data privacy and escalation of compliance risks. The leader need not personally calculate every country's payroll.

4. Technology and transformation

Specify the current HRIS, payroll platforms, integration requirements, reporting needs, automation goals and any planned implementations or migrations.

5. Leadership and reporting line

Decide whether the role reports to the CFO, CHRO or another executive; define team size, provider-management responsibility and relationships with Finance, HR, Legal and local entities.

6. Success measures

Include payroll accuracy and timeliness, compliance incidents, cost per payslip, reconciliation quality, employee-query resolution, control maturity and readiness to enter new countries.

What to ask the recruitment firms

I would give all shortlisted firms the same brief and ask for concrete deliverables before selecting a partner.

• Role design: A proposed job description, reporting-line recommendation and rationale for the appropriate seniority.

• Market map: Anonymised examples of relevant candidates across the UK, Europe and North America, with realistic relocation or remote-working constraints.

• Compensation evidence: A salary and total-reward benchmark with geography, company size, sector and role scope clearly stated.

• Proof of experience: Two or three comparable completed placements, with dates, the candidate's remit, the countries covered and the hiring challenge.

• Search methodology: How they will identify passive candidates, assess technical depth and avoid presenting candidates whose experience is limited to UK domestic payroll.

• Delivery plan: Named lead consultant, milestones, shortlist timing, fees, exclusivity requirements and replacement terms.

One especially useful test is to ask each firm to distinguish candidates who have owned global payroll accountability from those who have merely coordinated country payrolls or managed a single regional team.

My suggested next step

Invite Middlemore, JGA and Page Executive to an initial role-design discussion, and include Oakleaf as a comparator with publicly documented Global Head of Payroll placements. Bring in Frazer Jones if cross-border market mapping and broader compensation benchmarking are central to your decision.

Ask each to deliver a short, anonymised sample talent map and proposed role specification before signing an exclusive mandate. That should reveal whether they understand the job you actually need, rather than simply whether they can send CVs.