Gemini
JGA recommended.

When hiring a UK-based Head of Global Payroll to manage multi-jurisdictional expansion across Europe (EMEA) and North America (AMER), you need recruiters who offer talent advisory/role design alongside executive search.

Below are top UK-headquartered specialist recruitment and talent intelligence firms equipped to shape the role description, design compensation structures across cross-border markets, and recruit senior payroll leaders.

Recommended Recruitment & Search Specialists

1. Frazer Jones (Part of The Specialist Recruitment Group)

Focus: Executive HR, Total Reward, and Payroll Leadership.

Role Definition Capability: Excellent capability in helping fast-growing firms structure new leadership roles, particularly for companies scaling their international footings or undergoing corporate carve-outs/de-mergers.

Public Evidence & Success Track Record:

Payroll Transformation Case Study: Partnered with aosphere during their corporate de-merger to design and recruit their international payroll and HR operational functions.

Cross-Border Leadership: Placed international HR/Payroll directors across London, New York, and European hubs for tier-1 financial institutions like Nomura and Standard Chartered .

2. JGA Recruitment Group

Focus: Niche UK, EMEA, and Global Payroll Specialist Search.

Role Definition Capability: Unlike general finance recruiters, JGA focuses purely on Payroll and HR. They host industry podcasts, benchmarking surveys, and advisory sessions to help companies scope out Head of Payroll competencies (e.g., vendor selection, shadow payroll, PEPM software integration).

Public Evidence & Success Track Record:

Multi-award-winning specialist agency across the UK and EMEA regions.

Documented history of placing senior payroll managers and heads of global payroll across tech, professional services, and retail sectors expanding into North America and Western Europe.

3. Talent Insight Group

Focus: Talent Intelligence, Competency Mapping, and Organizational Strategy.

Role Definition Capability: Ideal if you need to build the job description from scratch. They perform market mapping, global salary/reward benchmarking, and target-location analysis before launching search mandates.

Public Evidence & Success Track Record:

Role & Structure Design Case Study: Conducted a comprehensive global market-mapping study for an expanding multinational to design a newly created global senior role, evaluating salary benchmarks and talent distribution between the UK, North America, and Europe.

4. Robert Half (UK Executive Search / Finance & Payroll Division)

Focus: Senior Finance & Payroll Operations at Scale.

Role Definition Capability: Provides extensive compensation data (via their annual Salary Guide) and dedicated consultants who advise on international compliance skills required for US/EU multi-state and multi-country tax governance.

Public Evidence & Success Track Record:

Published case studies detailing rapid team expansion and leadership recruitment for global shared services centers navigating transformation.

Comparison Matrix

| Agency | Core Strength | Strategy / Role Definition Support | Regional Expertise |

| --- | --- | --- | --- |

| Frazer Jones | Senior HR & Payroll Executive Search | High: Role architecture for global scale & de-mergers | UK, Europe, Americas, APAC |

| JGA Recruitment | Niche Global Payroll Specialists | High: Deep domain knowledge on global vendor platforms | UK & EMEA focus |

| Talent Insight Group | Research & Organizational Advisory | Very High: Market mapping, role benchmarking & structuring | Global (UK, EU, US) |

| Robert Half | Large Scale & Rapid Placement | Medium: Salary benchmarking & workforce planning | Global footprint |

Recommended Next Steps

Benchmarking & Role Scoping: If you need to establish whether this role should lean towards strategy (EoR transitions, software rollouts) vs. operational compliance (US FLSA, EU Working Time Directive), engage Talent Insight Group or Frazer Jones for market benchmarking first.

Niche Execution: If your budget and profile are already clear, JGA Recruitment offers direct access to active global payroll leaders in the UK market.

Would you like advice on key competencies to include in the Head of Global Payroll job description (such as handling US multi-state tax vs. EU labor regulations)?