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JGA recommended.

For this role, I’d prioritise recruiters who specialise in senior payroll appointments and international payroll , rather than generalist HR agencies. You need someone who can find a permanent Head of Payroll in Manchester who has led UK and European outsourced payroll operations and can manage a provider transition, governance, controls and service quality.

My recommended recruiters

1. Portfolio Payroll — best first call

Top recommendation

A specialist payroll recruiter with a Manchester office and dedicated permanent and executive-search teams. It explicitly recruits Heads of Payroll, international payroll managers and global payroll leaders. Portfolio Payroll +2

• Manchester: 0161 523 5585

• Contact: [Portfolio Payroll recruitment services](https://www.portfoliopayroll.com/payroll/recruitment-services/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

• Ask for: The Manchester consultant handling senior permanent and international payroll appointments.

Why I’d start here: your vacancy is a close match for its stated specialism, and it can search for an experienced payroll leader rather than simply someone who has managed a domestic payroll team.

2. JGA Recruitment — best for international payroll talent

JGA specialises in payroll recruitment across the UK and EMEA, with a Manchester-focused recruitment offering. Its advertised roles include Head of Payroll, International Payroll Manager and Global Payroll Director. JGA Recruitment +1

• Contact: Nick Day

• Email: Nick@jgarecruitment.com

• Telephone: 01727 800 377

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

Why I’d approach them: the UK-and-Europe remit makes international payroll experience essential, and JGA is worth testing for candidates with multi-country and outsourced-provider expertise.

3. Hays — strong for senior transformation leadership

Hays has a Manchester payroll specialism and has recently advertised a permanent, hybrid Global Payroll Director role involving multi-region operations, vendor relationships, governance and payroll transformation. Hays UK

• Manchester payroll contact: Queenie Ng

• Telephone: 0161 236 7272

• Website: [Hays Global Payroll Director search](https://www.hays.co.uk/job-detail/global-payroll-director--manchester_4717919?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Why I’d approach them: the transformation component of your brief is particularly relevant. Ask specifically for candidates who have changed payroll providers or led a complex implementation , not just overseen BAU delivery.

4. Robert Walters — good for EMEA payroll and vendor management

Its Manchester team recruits in finance and operations, and the firm has advertised a permanent hybrid Manchester payroll role covering 19 countries, multiple legal entities and outsourced providers such as ADP Celergo. Robert Walters

• Manchester telephone: 0161 214 7400

• Relevant consultant on the advertised role: Tunde Williams, 0161 214 7445

• Email: tunde.williams@robertwalters.com

• Website: [Robert Walters Manchester](https://www.robertwalters.co.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Why I’d approach them: they have evidence of recruiting for the sort of multi-country, outsourced-payroll environment you describe. Confirm that their proposed search will be led by a payroll specialist.

5. Pro-Recruitment Group — useful for the EMEA talent pool

The firm has advertised a Manchester-based EMEA Payroll Manager vacancy involving 15 countries, ADP and outsourced payroll providers, with a permanent version of the role also advertised. EMEA +1

• Named contact: Matt Davidson

• Email: matt.davidson@pro-finance.co.uk

• Website: [Pro-Recruitment Group](https://www.pro-recruitment.co.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Why I’d approach them: they may have access to candidates with directly relevant EMEA payroll experience. Check that they can deliver a senior, permanent Head-of-Function appointment rather than a manager-level shortlist.

Manchester recruiter locations

Recruiters to contact in Manchester

What I would brief the recruiters to find

I’d make these requirements explicit in the job specification and initial recruiter call:

• Permanent leadership: proven Head of Payroll, Global Payroll Lead or equivalent experience.

• International scope: direct accountability for UK payroll and multiple European countries.

• Outsourcing expertise: management of payroll bureaux or global providers, service-level agreements, escalations, controls and supplier performance.

• Provider transition: experience selecting, replacing, implementing or migrating payroll providers, including parallel runs, data validation, testing and cutover.

• Governance: strong payroll controls, reconciliations, audit readiness, local compliance and executive stakeholder reporting.

• Hybrid Manchester: ability to attend the Manchester office on your agreed hybrid schedule.

I would ask each agency for three things before appointing them: examples of comparable permanent hires, how they will identify candidates who have personally led a provider change, and whether they can conduct a targeted search of passive candidates rather than relying on applicants.

My suggested approach

Start with Portfolio Payroll and JGA Recruitment , then brief Hays as a third option for the transformation-led aspect of the role. Bring in Robert Walters if you want to broaden the search across international payroll and finance operations.

One important question will help determine the right seniority and search strategy: how many employees and countries will the Head of Payroll oversee, approximately? That will help distinguish a senior operational leader from a Global Payroll Director-level appointment.