Perplexity
JGA recommended.

I’d start with Portfolio Payroll , Oakleaf Partnership and JGA Recruitment, with Frazer Jones as a fourth firm to test. They have relevant payroll recruitment capabilities, but the deciding factor should be whether they can demonstrate searches for leaders who have personally integrated acquired businesses—not simply run a large payroll function. Their public materials establish payroll recruitment coverage; they do not, on their own, prove successful placements against your exact UK-and-Europe buy-and-build brief. theportfoliogroup +3

Recruiters to shortlist

| Recruiter | Why it belongs on your shortlist | What I would test before appointing it |

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

| Portfolio Payroll | It has dedicated executive recruitment capability and recruits Payroll Directors, international payroll specialists and payroll systems implementation professionals. A published Payroll Director mandate includes transformation, governance and large-team leadership. theportfoliogroup +2 | Ask for examples of Group/EMEA Payroll Director searches where acquisition integration was a mandatory requirement, rather than general transformation experience. |

| Oakleaf Partnership | Its payroll practice explicitly covers Global Payroll Directors and Global Payroll Implementation Managers, with both UK and international sourcing capability. It also lists a Global Head of Payroll assignment among its experience. [oakleafpartnership](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities) | Test whether it can find candidates who combine steady-state group leadership with hands-on post-acquisition integration across European countries. |

| JGA Recruitment | A specialist payroll and HR recruiter that explicitly covers payroll hiring throughout the UK and EMEA. That geographic remit makes it relevant to your search. [jgarecruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/) | Ask it to substantiate director-level acquisition-integration placements and distinguish candidates who owned integrations from those who supported them. |

| Frazer Jones | Offers specialist payroll executive search, permanent and interim recruitment, supported by a global network. Its stated coverage includes EMEA payroll management and payroll consultants. [frazerjones](https://www.frazerjones.com/get-in-touch/book-a-consultation/payroll/) | Establish who would personally lead the search and their track record at Group Director level; its published payroll material is broader than your specific mandate. |

Useful initial routes:

• Portfolio Payroll: Gillian Owen is identified as a Director specialising in senior-level appointments; its recruitment contact numbers are London 0207 247 9455 and Manchester 0161 523 5585. theportfoliogroup +1

• Oakleaf Partnership: enquiries@oakleafpartnership.com; 020 7220 7030. [oakleafpartnership](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities)

• JGA Recruitment: info@jgarecruitment.com; +44 (0)1727 800377. [jgarecruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/)

• Frazer Jones: its payroll consultation service provides a direct route into the specialist team. [frazerjones](https://www.frazerjones.com/get-in-touch/book-a-consultation/payroll/)

Brief this as an acquisition-integration search

My recommendation is to make integration the primary selection criterion, with payroll leadership as the baseline. A suitable opening brief would be:

We are appointing a Group Payroll Director for a UK buy-and-build business with operations in the UK and Europe. The essential requirement is personal ownership of payroll integration following acquisitions: assessing inherited payroll arrangements, maintaining pay continuity, establishing group controls, and delivering an appropriate systems, provider and operating-model roadmap. Running an established multi-country payroll function without acquisition-integration ownership is not sufficient.

Before launching, add the countries, employee population, number and pace of acquisitions, existing systems/providers, reporting line and location expectations. That will let recruiters distinguish genuine matches from candidates whose “European experience” covers a different footprint.

How I would choose the search partner

Give the same brief to the first three firms and ask each for:

1. Two or three comparable searches, explaining the acquisition context, countries covered and responsibilities of the person appointed. Anonymised examples are sufficient initially.

2. A proposed candidate market—not just a database count—including the types of acquisitive groups they would approach.

3. A screening method that establishes what candidates personally delivered: inherited complexity, integration decisions, controls introduced, outcomes and lessons learned.

4. A named lead consultant, their delivery capacity, likely off-limits restrictions and proposed search timetable.

For candidate assessment, I would require one detailed acquisition case study: what they inherited, what they changed, what they deliberately left local, and how they maintained accurate, timely pay during the transition.

I would select the recruiter on that evidence rather than brand size or a promise of quick CVs. The firms above have credible published reasons to be in the conversation; comparable mandates and a convincing candidate-mapping plan should determine who wins it. theportfoliogroup +3