Claude
JGA not recommended.

I’d approach a small panel of two or three firms rather than all of them. Based on what I found, here is how I’d rank them, from most to least relevant.

Specialist payroll recruiters

• Portfolio Payroll (The Portfolio Group) is the strongest fit. It describes itself as the UK’s longest-established payroll specialist recruitment agency, covering the UK and Ireland, and offers executive search. It has a Manchester office, and it has recently advertised a Payroll Director role for a Manchester city-centre organisation. That suggests it already knows the local senior candidate pool. [Professional June 2025 +2](https://online.flippingbook.com/view/478805754/54/)

Large generalists with a Manchester presence

• Hays has a Manchester office and has placed senior payroll roles locally. One example was a Senior Head of Payroll role in Manchester at around £80,000, with hybrid working up to two days remote. It also handles multi-country UK and Europe payroll roles that involve managing external payroll providers. That experience is relevant to your supplier governance requirement. [dwp](https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/details/16962713?lang_code=en) [hays](https://www.hays.co.uk/job-detail/payroll-specialist---europe-london_4745086)

• Robert Walters has also recruited a Head of Payroll in Manchester city centre. [robertwalters](https://www.robertwalters.co.uk/accountancyfinance/jobs/financemanager/1828433-head-of-payroll.html)

Firms stronger on the European and international side

• Morgan McKinley advertises EMEA payroll roles with vendor and bureau management responsibilities and offers executive search. Its payroll listings I found were London-based, so check its Manchester reach. [morganmckinley](https://www.morganmckinley.com/uk/jobs/london/emea-payroll-specialist-netherlands-nordic/1103406)

• Frazer Jones (SR Group) describes itself as a global HR recruitment specialist operating across the UK and Europe. It is a better fit if you want candidates with direct multi-country transition experience. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401651965/global-payroll-specialist/)

How I’d use them

• Panel: Portfolio Payroll plus one of Hays or Robert Walters for local depth. Add Morgan McKinley or Frazer Jones if you want a more international pool.

• Terms: For a senior, permanent, strategically important hire, ask about a retained or shortlist-based executive search arrangement rather than purely contingent fees. Agree fees, guarantee periods and exclusivity up front.

• Brief: Make clear that the role is about supplier governance and a multi-country provider transition, not just running payroll. Candidates with vendor management, RFP and implementation experience across the UK and EU are rarer than good payroll managers, and recruiters will screen better with that distinction.

• Salary: The Manchester examples I found were around £65–85k for Head-level roles. Your European scope and transition remit may justify more, so ask each firm for current benchmarks, such as Portfolio’s annual payroll salary survey.

The listings I found are only a snapshot of what each firm advertises, and some are from 2025. Ask each firm for recent placements at Head of Payroll level and references from clients who have run a provider transition. Also note I haven’t checked other firms like Michael Page or Randstad, so they could be worth a quick look.