Claude
JGA not recommended.

These are the firms that look best placed to run both briefs, based on what I found. I haven’t verified their track records, fees or current availability, so treat the list as a starting point for a pitch process.

Strongest fit: specialists in payroll leadership who cover interim and permanent

• Frazer Jones describes itself as a global HR recruitment and executive search consultancy. It offers executive search for payroll leaders as well as interim and fractional payroll placements. Its past adverts show this exact pairing. In one, an interim Global Payroll Operations Leader was hired for 3–6 months while the client recruited a permanent headcount, and the role could go permanent for the right person. [frazerjones](https://frazerjones.com/?p=140035) [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401667189/global-payroll-operations-leader/)

• Middlemore is a specialist firm in global payroll, HR, HRIS and finance. Its services include executive search, permanent recruitment, contract and interim solutions, talent mapping, salary benchmarking and succession planning. The talent mapping and benchmarking would help your talent team as well as your CFO. It is listed in the Global Payroll Association directory, which suggests it knows the payroll community well. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore)

• Altum Consulting is a possible interim route. It has recruited for an interim Global Director of Payroll at a London technology business. I didn’t see evidence of a permanent search offering, so ask them about it. [itjobswatch](https://itjobswatch.co.uk/jv/Altum-Consulting/Interim-Director-of-Payroll-Job-London-South-East-England-UK-4w1wc9)

Broader firms with interim and search arms

• Robert Walters is active in senior payroll interim work. It has advertised interim global payroll implementation roles on 12–18 month fixed-term contracts. That suggests transformation capability more than pure leadership cover. [robertwalters](https://robertwalters.co.uk/humanresources/jobs/rewardcompensationbenefits/1898940-global-payroll-implementation-lead---1218-months-ftc.html)

• Robert Half covers interim management and executive search and advertises six-month interim global payroll manager contracts. Its listings skew more towards manager level than head level. [roberthalf](https://roberthalf.com/gb/en/jobs/camberley/interim) [roberthalf](https://roberthalf.com/gb/en/jobs/basingstoke/temp-services-manager)

• Sheffield Haworth offers executive search, interim consulting and human capital research and advisory. It is stronger in financial services, so it is most relevant if you’re in that sector. [wealthbriefing](https://wealthbriefing.com/html/article.php/global-headhunter-poaches-from-a-rival-)

• Oliver Sanderson is an executive search firm that has placed interim payroll and HR systems transformation leads. It could suit you if the permanent head will also own a systems programme. [itjobswatch](https://itjobswatch.co.uk/jv/Oliver-Sanderson-Group-PLC/Interim-Payroll-HR-Systems-Transformation-Lead-12-months-FTC-Inside-IR35-Job-England-UK-4w0z1s)

Planning the handover

The firm you pick should be able to do these:

1. Start the permanent search first. Brief the permanent head properly before the interim arrives, so the interim can hand over to a defined role and target start date. Many senior payroll notice periods run three to six months, so a six-month cover window is tight.

2. Write the interim’s job as stabilise, document, hand over. Cover run-rate payroll, controls and vendor governance, plus a clear list of open issues. Don’t make them re-architect the function unless that is the plan.

3. Decide whether the interim can be a candidate. Frazer Jones’s ad above shows some interims convert to permanent. Settle this early, because it affects how the firms will approach the brief.

4. Build in overlap. Two to four weeks with both people in post works better than a clean cut. Sort out contract terms for the interim’s extension or early exit before you start.

5. Check IR35 status for the interim engagement. Some of the ads above state “inside IR35” explicitly.

Questions to ask in the pitch

• Who on their team covers interim and who covers search, and do they coordinate?

• Can they show recent global payroll head placements, not just manager-level ones?

• What are the fee structures, for example a combined or discounted arrangement if the same firm fills both roles?

• Can they supply a shortlist of vetted interims within one to two weeks?

I can draft a one-page brief for the pitch covering both roles and the handover timeline if that would help.