Claude
JGA recommended.

For a role that is programme leadership rather than payroll operations, you’ll want firms that cover both the payroll/HR-tech niche and the change and transformation side. These came up in my search:

Payroll, HR and reward specialists with transformation or executive search capability

• JGA Recruitment Group : its team focuses on global payroll and HR-tech, with expertise across Dayforce, Workday, UKG, SAP, Oracle and ADP. It is also advertising a Global Payroll Transformation Manager role in London at £100,000-125,000, so it is active in this space. [jgarecruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/meet-the-team/) [gorodeo](https://gorodeo.app/job/global-payroll-transformation-manager-937UmGkqIIt0UJrG-N-6rw)

• Middlemore : a specialist executive search and recruitment firm covering global payroll, HR, HRIS, finance and reward. Its listed scope includes global payroll transformation, HRIS and payroll implementation, programme and project management, change and data migration. This is probably the closest match to your brief on paper. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore) [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore)

• Oakleaf Partnership : a specialist HR, reward and payroll recruitment and executive search business that launched a Technology, Change and Transformation arm. That arm serves the UK and EMEA, which could suit a multi-country programme. [recruiter](https://recruiter.co.uk/news/2021/11/oakleaf-partnership-launches-new-tct-business-jones-helm)

• Frazer Jones : it is currently recruiting for global payroll technology implementation roles with a professional services organisation, though the role I found was junior (£50-60k). [frazerjones](https://frazerjones.com/job/senior-global-payroll-implementation-associate-172272/)

• Annapurna Recruitment : founded to serve the HR sector, with offices in London and Munich and a focus on the UK, DACH and Nordic markets. It recruits HR and payroll transformation project managers, mostly for consultancies. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401622314/hr-and-payroll-transformation-project-manager/)

Broader recruiters with a transformation practice

• Robert Walters : it is advertising a 12-18 month fixed-term Global Payroll & Benefits Implementation Lead in London at £100K+. It files these under its Projects, Change & Transformation specialism, which is close to your brief. [itjobswatch](https://itjobswatch.co.uk/jv/Robert-Walters/Global-Payroll-Implementation-Lead-12-18-months-FTC-Job-London-South-East-England-UK-51fxzb)

• Oliver Sanderson : an executive search firm that has advertised an interim Payroll & HR Systems Transformation Lead role, so it covers the interim and contract end. [itjobswatch](https://itjobswatch.co.uk/jv/Oliver-Sanderson-Group-PLC/Interim-Payroll-HR-Systems-Transformation-Lead-12-months-FTC-Inside-IR35-Job-England-UK-4w0z1s)

I’d also check

Hays

and

Michael Page

, which have large UK payroll and HR practices, but I haven’t verified their transformation coverage here.

Choosing between them

• Search type: for a senior hire where you want a mapped market and discreet approaches, shortlist the executive search firms (Middlemore, Oakleaf). For speed or a fixed-term programme lead, the contingent specialists (JGA, Robert Walters, Oliver Sanderson) may move faster.

• Brief the candidate profile precisely. Ask each firm whether they can name people who have delivered multi-country rollouts on your platform (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, ADP, a managed service, etc.), not just run payroll. Many “payroll leaders” in their databases won’t have done this, so ask for recent placements of that type.

• Consider a transformation or PMO specialist alongside a payroll one. The strongest candidates for this role often come from consultancies or programme backgrounds rather than in-house payroll.

• Contract versus permanent: many of these roles are advertised as 12-18 month fixed-term or interim programme roles. If you only need leadership through go-live, that may widen your talent pool considerably.

If you tell me the platform, the countries and whether this is permanent or interim, I can help you draft a tight brief to send to two or three of these firms.