Perplexity
JGA not recommended.

For a UK-based Head of Global Payroll covering Europe and North America, I would shortlist Portfolio Payroll , Frazer Jones , VIDA , and Korn Ferry . The first three are payroll/HR-specialist options; Korn Ferry is better if you want a broader executive-search process, leadership assessment, and role-definition support. kornferry +3

Recommended shortlist

| Firm | Best fit | Public evidence of relevant experience |

| Portfolio Payroll | Specialist payroll search for a hands-on, payroll-led Head of Global Payroll | Says it has supported the payroll sector since 1988 and recruits from administrators to Heads of Payroll and Payroll Directors; its executive-search page explicitly names Global Heads of Payroll , Global Payroll Managers, Payroll Directors and Transformation Leads. It also lists London, Manchester, Dublin and Toronto contacts, which is useful for Europe/North America coverage. theportfoliogroup +2 |

| Frazer Jones | Global HR/payroll leadership search, especially if the role sits within People, HR Operations or shared services | Describes itself as a global HR recruitment and executive-search consultancy; its payroll practice says it hires from payroll assistants through global payroll managers and consultants, and its financial-services page names a UK Head of Payroll and Payroll Director. frazerjones +1 |

| VIDA | Scale-up/multinational mandate needing payroll, EOR and international operations understanding | Positions itself as a specialist global executive-search firm for the Outsourced Payroll & Global EOR industry, operating from London and Leeds and delivering mandates across the UK, Europe, North America, APAC, the Middle East and Latin America. Its payroll practice recruits leadership, operations, implementation and product talent for payroll and EOR businesses. vida-cs +2 |

| Korn Ferry | Senior, high-stakes appointment where role design, succession, assessment and compensation benchmarking matter as much as sourcing | Its executive-search offering includes preparing job descriptions and Success Profiles, identifying and screening candidates, and advising on compensation and retention; it says its consultants have recruitment experience in 130 countries. kornferry +2 |

| Oakleaf Partnership | If the Head of Global Payroll reports into a CHRO/CPO and needs strong HR-leadership network access | Says it recruits across HR, Reward, Payroll, HR Operations and HR Technology; it specializes in senior global HR leadership, offers research-led retained search for CHRO/CPO appointments, and says it supports the UK, Europe, North America and the Middle East from UK and US offices. [oakleafpartnership](https://oakleafpartnership.com/) |

How I would split the mandate

• Use Portfolio Payroll or Frazer Jones if the priority is deep payroll-domain candidate access: multi-country payroll operations, payroll controls, vendor management, in-house/bureau models, and transformation. theportfoliogroup +1

• Use VIDA if your expansion will rely heavily on EORs, managed payroll providers, or a mix of in-house and outsourced delivery across Europe and North America. vida-cs +1

• Use Korn Ferry or Oakleaf if you need a retained, senior-level search with formal role definition, leadership assessment, compensation design, and access to adjacent HR-operations and transformation leaders. kornferry +1

• Run two firms in parallel only if you use a clear no-overlap protocol: one payroll-specialist search plus one broader executive-search firm. Otherwise, a single retained specialist is usually cleaner for a single leadership hire.

What “define the role” should include

Ask the firm to produce a Success Profile , not merely a job advert. Korn Ferry publicly describes this as including job descriptions, Success Profiles, candidate identification, screening, compensation/retention frameworks, and culture fit. kornferry +1

For this position, the profile should specify:

• Scope: UK, EU/EEA, North America; entity vs EOR coverage; number of countries, payrolls, employees, currencies and works councils.

• Operating model: in-house payroll, payroll bureau, managed service, EOR, or hybrid; build-versus-partner strategy.

• Compliance accountabilities: statutory reporting, tax, social security, data privacy, audit, SOX-style controls if public, and works-council/consultation obligations.

• Transformation remit: payroll consolidation, global vendor strategy, automation, HRIS/payroll integrations, and service-level management.

• Leadership expectations: team size, locations, reporting line, stakeholder map, and whether the person must build the function or optimize an existing one.

A useful benchmark is Wise’s London-based Global Head of Payroll role, which calls for experience leading complex multi-region payroll operations, compliance and controls, automation/process redesign, and vendor management against SLAs.

[linkedin](https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/global-head-of-payroll-at-wise-4231917423)

Questions to test each recruiter

1. Mandate evidence: “Show three comparable global payroll leadership searches in the last 24 months, with country scope and outcome.”

2. Candidate map: “Which payroll leaders have you approached for multi-region UK/Europe/North America mandates, and where are they currently?”

3. Role-definition deliverable: “Will you deliver a Success Profile, scorecard, market map, compensation benchmark, and diversity slate before shortlisting?”

4. Delivery model expertise: “How do you assess candidates who have led EOR-heavy expansion versus those who have built in-house multi-entity payroll?”

5. Geographic coverage: “Who owns candidate development in North America, and what is your direct network there rather than a partner referral?”

6. Guarantee and process: “What is the replacement guarantee, shortlist timing, interview-process ownership, and fee structure?”

Practical recommendation

Start with Portfolio Payroll and Frazer Jones for specialist payroll-market coverage, and add Korn Ferry if this is a board-visible appointment or the role will also own broader People Operations transformation. If EOR is central to the expansion model, include VIDA in the initial conversations. kornferry +3

The strongest public evidence currently points to Portfolio Payroll for explicit Global Head of Payroll search experience, Frazer Jones for global payroll leadership networks, VIDA for payroll/EOR industry specialization, and Korn Ferry for structured executive-search and role-definition capability. kornferry +3