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JGA recommended.

For this brief, I’d target specialist payroll and finance recruitment firms, alongside executive recruiters with a strong HR operations practice . You need more than someone who can run UK payroll: the Head of Payroll must manage outsourced providers across the UK and Europe, lead a provider transition, and own service quality, controls, compliance and stakeholder relationships.

For a permanent, hybrid role based in Manchester, I’d prioritise recruiters who can reach candidates with experience in multi-country outsourced payroll, vendor management and payroll transformation .

My recommended recruiters

1. Portfolio Payroll

First choice

The strongest starting point. Its dedicated payroll practice recruits permanent and executive-level payroll leaders, including Heads of Payroll, European Payroll Managers and global payroll leaders. It also has a Manchester team. Portfolio Payroll +2

• Contact: Gillian Owen, Director, Manchester payroll team

• Phone: 0161 523 5585

• Email: [GillianOwen/Portfolio team ](https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/our-team/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

• Vacancy enquiry: [Portfolio Payroll — register a vacancy](https://portfoliopayroll.com/payroll/register-a-vacancy/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

2. JGA Recruitment

A strong specialist option for senior payroll and international payroll talent. JGA specifically recruits across payroll roles in the UK and EMEA, and its Manchester payroll recruitment practice is led by Nick Day. JGA Recruitment

• Contact: Nick Day

• Phone: 01727 800 377

• Email: Nick@jgarecruitment.com

• Website: [JGA Recruitment — payroll recruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/payroll-jobs-manchester/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

3. McKinnon Talent

A dedicated payroll recruiter covering permanent appointments through to senior leadership. Worth approaching for candidates in payroll bureaux, outsourced providers and in-house payroll functions. Mckinnon Talent

• Phone: 0161 507 0011

• Email: admin@mckinnontalent.co.uk

• Website: [McKinnon Talent ](https://mckinnontalent.co.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

4. Frazer Jones

Particularly relevant if you want a strategic leader rather than a purely operational payroll manager. It offers dedicated payroll executive search and permanent recruitment, with access to UK and international payroll talent. Frazer Jones

• Contact: John O’Brien, Executive Director and Head of Payroll

• Phone: 020 7415 2171

• Website: [FrazerJones—payroll recruitment ](https://frazerjones.com/get-in-touch/book-a-consultation/payroll/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

5. Hays

A useful additional route because Hays has recruited for Manchester-based EMEA payroll roles involving outsourced providers, multi-country compliance and payroll controls. Confirm that the consultant handling your vacancy can deliver a permanent leadership search, not just interim cover. Hays UK

• Manchester payroll contact: Queenie Ng has handled an EMEA payroll assignment.

• Website: [Hays—payroll recruitment ](https://hays.co.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

How I would run the search

I would brief Portfolio Payroll and JGA first, then ask Frazer Jones to assess the senior executive-search market. This gives you specialist payroll coverage plus a route to more senior, potentially passive candidates.

Ask each recruiter to demonstrate that they can find candidates who have:

• Led outsourced payroll across the UK and multiple European countries.

• Managed a payroll provider change, including vendor selection, implementation, parallel runs, testing and go-live.

• Owned service-level agreements, escalations, payroll controls, reconciliations and compliance.

• Influenced senior HR, Finance, Procurement and external provider stakeholders.

• Led a permanent team and operated at Head-of-function level.

One important distinction: experience managing a mature outsourced service is not necessarily experience transitioning between providers. Make the latter a specific screening requirement.

Suggested recruitment brief

Email

Subject

Permanent Head of Payroll — Manchester hybrid | UK & European provider transition

Hi,

We are looking to appoint an experienced, permanent Head of Payroll for a hybrid role based in Manchester.

The successful candidate will lead UK and European payroll operations delivered through external payroll suppliers. A key priority will be overseeing a change of payroll providers, ensuring a controlled transition, continuity of service, strong governance and accurate, compliant payroll delivery.

We are looking for an established payroll leader with demonstrable experience in:

◦ Managing outsourced payroll providers across the UK and Europe.

◦ Leading or playing a senior role in a payroll provider transition or implementation.

◦ Managing vendor performance, SLAs, controls, reconciliations and compliance.

◦ Working across HR, Finance, Procurement and senior business stakeholders.

◦ Leading teams and driving continuous improvement in a multi-country environment.

The position is permanent and hybrid, with Manchester as the base.

Please let us know whether you have candidates who match this brief, how you would approach the search, and your proposed terms and indicative timescale.

We would particularly welcome candidates who have personally led a supplier change rather than only managed business-as-usual payroll delivery.

Kind regards,

[Your name]

Three details that would help me narrow the shortlist

The biggest factor in selecting the right recruiter is the seniority and scale of the role.

What salary range are you targeting for the permanent Head of Payroll? That will help determine whether you need a senior payroll manager stepping up, an established Head of Payroll, or a global payroll transformation leader.