ChatGPT: both observations

For this brief, I’d start with a specialist global-payroll executive recruiter , rather than a generalist headhunter or a payroll outsourcing company.

You need a permanent Director who can take personal ownership of payroll accuracy, investigate recurring errors, strengthen financial and operational controls, and hold country teams, HR, Finance, systems teams and external providers accountable.

Three firms stand out from my research because they specifically recruit senior payroll talent in the UK.

Who I would approach first

1. Middlemore

First call

Best fit for a senior, specialist search

Middlemore has a dedicated Global Payroll Practice led by Abu Choudhury, who has over 18 years of payroll recruitment experience. The firm recruits senior payroll talent for global organisations, making it a strong match for a Director-level appointment focused on operational improvement. Middlemore +1

• Contact: [Abu Choudhury — Global Payroll Practice](https://middlemore.co.uk/about/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

• Email: abu.choudhury@middlemore.co.uk

• Phone: +44 7833 620862

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

2. JGA Recruitment

Best fit for global payroll and systems expertise

JGA explicitly covers Global Payroll Director, Payroll Director and Global Payroll Transformation roles. Its director Tom Croughton specialises in global payroll and HR technology, including Workday, SAP, Oracle and ADP. JGA Recruitment +1

• Contact: [Tom Croughton or the JGA team](https://jgarecruitment.com/meet-the-team/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

• Email: tomv@jgarecruitment.com is listed for global payroll and HRIS specialist recruitment; for the director-level brief, ask to speak with Tom Croughton directly.

• Phone: +44 1727 800377

• Website: [jgarecruitment.com ](https://jgarecruitment.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

3. Oakleaf Partnership

Best fit for a dedicated payroll recruitment mandate

Oakleaf's payroll practice recruits permanent and interim professionals, including Global Payroll Directors and Global Heads of Payroll. It also has experience recruiting senior payroll leaders in financial services and other complex organisations. Oakleaf +1

• Contact: [Oakleaf Payroll team](https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

• Website: [oakleafpartnership.com ](https://oakleafpartnership.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

What to ask the recruiter to find

I would brief the search around a Global Payroll Director — Remediation, Controls & Transformation , rather than simply a Head of Payroll.

The successful candidate should have demonstrable experience in:

• Payroll remediation: identifying root causes of recurring underpayments, overpayments, late payments and reconciliation differences.

• Control ownership: implementing maker-checker approvals, payroll-to-GL reconciliations, exception reporting, audit trails and clear sign-off accountability.

• Global governance: setting consistent standards across countries while respecting local legislation and statutory obligations.

• Provider oversight: managing external payroll vendors against service levels, error rates and escalation requirements, without outsourcing away internal accountability.

• Transformation: improving payroll data, interfaces, processes and systems, then proving that error rates and control weaknesses have reduced.

Ask each firm for examples of permanent Global Payroll Director placements where the leader inherited a troubled payroll operation and improved its accuracy and governance.

A ready-to-send recruitment brief

Email

Subject

Permanent Global Payroll Director — Executive Search

Hello, We are looking to appoint a permanent, UK-based Global Payroll Director to take ownership of a global payroll function experiencing recurring pay errors and weaknesses in operational controls. This is an in-house leadership appointment, not a requirement for a payroll outsourcing provider. We need a proven global payroll leader who can:

◦ Diagnose and remediate recurring payroll errors.

◦ Establish robust financial controls, reconciliations, approvals and auditability.

◦ Improve governance, compliance and accountability across multiple countries.

◦ Manage payroll vendors and internal stakeholders effectively.

◦ Lead sustainable process and systems improvements, with measurable improvements in payroll accuracy.

Please let us know about your experience recruiting permanent Global Payroll Directors or Global Heads of Payroll with a strong remediation, controls and transformation track record. We would welcome an initial discussion about your search approach, candidate network, likely timescales and fee structure. Kind regards,

One question that would help me narrow this down: how many countries does the payroll cover, and is the main problem operational execution, payroll-system/integration failures, or a lack of financial controls and oversight? That distinction will help determine whether you need a hands-on payroll operator, a transformation leader, or a director with stronger governance and risk experience.

You need an executive search or specialist HR/payroll recruitment firm that can find a permanent Global Payroll Director or Head of Global Payroll — someone who can take ownership of recurring pay errors, strengthen controls, and restore confidence in payroll across multiple countries.

I would look for recruiters who understand the intersection of global payroll operations, finance controls, HR systems, and multi-country compliance , rather than firms whose main business is outsourcing payroll processing.

The brief should target someone who has personally led payroll remediation, improved payroll accuracy, introduced reconciliations and approval controls, and managed external payroll vendors across jurisdictions.

Recruiters I would contact

These firms explicitly recruit payroll leaders, including permanent and senior appointments. I'd start with the first three.

1. Middlemore

Strong specialist fit

Middlemore's payroll search practice covers Directors and VPs, global payroll transformation, governance, compliance, vendor management and permanent leadership recruitment. That closely matches a brief focused on fixing systemic pay errors and weak controls. Middlemore

Website: [Middlemore — Payroll Search](https://middlemore.co.uk/payroll-search/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

2. JGA Recruitment Group

JGA has a dedicated Global Payroll and HR-Tech recruitment specialism, including director and C-suite appointments. Its focus on global payroll systems and transformation makes it relevant if the errors stem from poor processes, system configuration or fragmented international operations. JGA Recruitment +1

Phone: +44 1727 800377

Website: [JGA Recruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

3. Portfolio Payroll

A long-established payroll recruitment specialist with dedicated permanent and executive search services, including director-level hires. A good option if you want a recruiter with a deep payroll candidate network and a structured permanent hiring process. Portfolio Payroll +1

Phone: +44 20 7247 9455

Address: 1 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AE

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

4. Frazer Jones

A useful alternative if the role needs to span global payroll, HR operations, reward and senior stakeholder management. It offers payroll executive search as well as permanent recruitment and has international reach. Frazer Jones +1

Website: [Frazer Jones — Payroll recruitment](https://www.frazerjones.com/payroll/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

What I would ask them to recruit for

Don't frame this as simply replacing the current payroll manager. Brief the recruiter to find a leader who can take control of a failing global payroll operation and make it reliable .

The candidate specification should include:

• Global scale: direct accountability for payroll across multiple countries, currencies and external providers.

• Control remediation: experience investigating recurring underpayments, overpayments, missed payments and payroll-to-ledger discrepancies.

• Governance: proven implementation of reconciliations, maker-checker approvals, exception reporting, audit trails and clear ownership.

• Transformation: ability to fix root causes across HRIS, time and attendance, payroll interfaces, employee data and provider performance.

• Leadership: credibility with the CFO, CHRO, internal audit and regional HR/Finance teams.

• Permanent ownership: accountable for sustained improvement, not just a short-term implementation project.

I would also ask each recruiter to provide anonymised examples of directors they've placed into organisations with comparable payroll-control problems, rather than simply supplying general payroll CVs.

A short brief to send recruiters

Email

Subject

Permanent Global Payroll Director — confidential search

We are looking to appoint a permanent Global Payroll Director to take ownership of a global payroll operation experiencing repeated pay errors and weaknesses in controls and governance. We need an experienced international payroll leader who has demonstrably stabilised complex, multi-country payrolls, identified root causes of recurring errors, strengthened financial and operational controls, improved payroll accuracy and managed external providers and internal stakeholders effectively. This is a permanent leadership appointment, not a payroll outsourcing or managed-services requirement. The successful candidate must be able to lead immediate remediation while building a sustainable operating model with clear accountability, robust reconciliations, effective escalation and measurable service standards. Please let us know about your experience recruiting Global Payroll Directors or equivalent leaders, your access to passive senior candidates, and examples of relevant searches you have completed. Please treat this enquiry confidentially.

My recommendation: approach Middlemore and JGA first, then Portfolio Payroll as a parallel option. Ask all three to demonstrate their experience with global payroll remediation and control failures , not just international payroll recruitment.

One question that would help narrow the search: how many countries does the payroll cover, and is it primarily managed in-house, through external providers, or through a mixture of both? That will help determine whether you need a hands-on transformation director or a broader global payroll executive.