Claude
JGA recommended.

Several UK recruiters work in this space, and which fits best depends on how senior the role is and which function it reports into. I haven’t vetted any of them, so treat this as a longlist to approach.

Specialist payroll and HR recruiters (retained or contingent)

• JGA Recruitment Group describes itself as a specialist Payroll and HR recruitment agency, so payroll is its core focus. Its listing I found was for a global payroll role at an investment firm. [studentjob](https://www.studentjob.co.uk/vacancies/5280719-global-payroll-expert-remote-uk-100k-in-bury)

• Hays has advertised a Payroll Director role in London at £80,000 to £100,000 plus bonus for a global software business, so it handles director-level payroll searches. [aicpa-cima](https://mycareer.aicpa-cima.com/job/4462555/group-payroll-manager/)

• Oakleaf Partnership calls itself the UK’s largest independent HR recruitment consultancy. It has placed Head of Global Payroll roles covering UK, EMEA, LATAM and APAC. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401574274/head-of-global-payroll/)

• Frazer Jones (part of SR Group) is a global HR recruitment specialist that has recruited global payroll leads for financial services and investment firms. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401654798/global-payroll-specialist/)

• Morgan McKinley offers permanent recruitment and executive search and lists payroll roles, though what I found was mostly lower-level. [morganmckinley](https://www.morganmckinley.com/uk/jobs/surrey/payroll-lead/1103779)

Several of the Oakleaf and Frazer Jones listings I found date from 2019 to 2022, so use them only as evidence of the sectors these firms cover.

Broader executive search firms

If the role is a true director reporting to a CFO, CHRO or Reward Director, you could also consider retained executive search firms with finance and HR practices. Examples include Michael Page, Robert Walters, Hays Executive, and boutique reward and HR search firms. The usual trade-off is that specialist payroll firms know the candidate pool well, while larger search firms bring more discretion and senior-level access.

How to choose and brief them

• Be explicit about the turnaround remit. Say the role is to fix repeated pay errors and weak controls. That tells recruiters to look for someone with control frameworks, remediation and audit experience. Many candidates are better at running a stable payroll than at repairing a broken one.

• Ask about their direct experience. Ask how many global payroll director placements they’ve made in the last 12 to 24 months, and whether they can show relevant candidates already.

• Confirm the commercial terms. Fees are typically a percentage of first-year salary, with either retained or contingent arrangements. Ask about the replacement guarantee period.

• Check sector fit. The firms above seem to place a lot of tech and financial services roles. If you are in manufacturing, retail or another sector, ask whether they have candidates from comparable environments.

• Consider an interim in parallel. If the errors are urgent, an interim payroll controller can stabilise things while the permanent search runs. That is separate from outsourcing the payroll itself.

If you tell me your sector, headcount, number of countries and reporting line, I can help you draft a role brief or a shortlist of questions for recruiters.