Perplexity: both observations

Approach Frazer Jones , JGA Recruitment Group and Portfolio Payroll. For your brief, I would speak to all three, then appoint a lead firm based on its evidence of comparable placements—not simply its international office footprint.

You need a UK-based payroll leader with multi-country European responsibility and the ability to work effectively under US payroll leadership. That makes specialist payroll search experience more relevant than broad executive-search credentials.

Recommended shortlist

| Firm | Why it fits your brief | Suggested starting point |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Frazer Jones | The clearest documented fit for an executive-level regional search. Its payroll practice covers executive search, and John O’Brien specifically recruits executive payroll and benefits professionals with UK, EMEA and global remits. The firm also has US leadership, providing a potential bridge to your US stakeholders. frazerjones +2 | John O’Brien, Executive Director / Head of Payroll. His published number is +44 20 7415 2171. Ask him to lead the UK search and explain how the US team would support stakeholder alignment. [frazerjones](https://frazerjones.com/submit-a-vacancy/thank-you/) |

| JGA Recruitment Group | A strong payroll-specialist alternative. JGA explicitly covers UK and EMEA payroll recruitment and lists Head of Payroll, Payroll Director, Global Payroll Director and Global Payroll Transformation Manager among its search categories. Its stated European coverage includes Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, the Nordics, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ireland. jgarecruitment +1 | The UK payroll recruitment team: +44 (0)1727 800377 or info@jgarecruitment.com. JGA also publishes a US contact operation; ask who would own the assignment and coordinate with your US payroll leadership. jgarecruitment +1 |

| Portfolio Payroll, part of The Portfolio Group | A credible specialist benchmark for the UK candidate market. It recruits through Head of Payroll and Payroll Director level and has advertised a London-based EMEA Payroll Manager position covering 10+ EMEA payrolls and in-country providers—useful evidence of directly relevant regional recruiting activity. theportfoliogroup +1 | Gemma Creamer, Director of the Permanent Division, whose published remit includes senior executive recruitment. The firm’s London number is +44 (0)20 7247 9455. theportfoliogroup +1 |

My first conversation would be with Frazer Jones because its published executive-payroll remit most closely matches the seniority and international reporting structure you describe. JGA would be a close second, particularly for its explicit European payroll coverage. Portfolio is worth including to test candidate reach and the quality of the proposed search approach. This is a fit-based assessment, not a verified ranking of placement success.

How to choose between them

Give each firm the same brief and ask it to demonstrate the following before awarding the search:

• Comparable placements: two or three UK-based Heads of EMEA Payroll or equivalent leaders placed into US-headquartered multinationals. Ask which countries, employee populations and reporting structures those roles covered.

• Relevant candidate experience: distinguish candidates who have personally led multi-country operations from those whose experience is predominantly UK payroll with limited regional oversight.

• US stakeholder fluency: ask how they assess experience reporting into US leadership, managing regional-versus-global priorities, and explaining European requirements to a US audience.

• Delivery ownership: establish who will actually map the market, approach candidates and assess them—not just who pitches the assignment.

• Search constraints and terms: request disclosure of client off-limits restrictions, candidate ownership rules, fees, replacement provisions and proposed milestones.

The firms’ public material establishes relevant specialisms and role coverage; it does not establish their success rates on your exact type of assignment. Comparable placement evidence should therefore drive the final decision. frazerjones +2

What to include in the brief

For this search, I would specify the actual European countries rather than relying on “EMEA” alone, then make these points explicit:

• Employee population, legal entities, payroll frequency and team size.

• Whether payroll is in-house, outsourced or a mixed model, including major systems and providers.

• Whether the role primarily owns operational delivery, transformation, or both.

• Decision-making authority relative to US payroll leadership, European HR and Finance.

• Required experience with controls, reconciliations, audits and vendor governance.

• UK location, hybrid expectations, travel, US-hours overlap and compensation range.

That gives the firms a concrete mandate: find a European payroll leader who can operate within your US-led structure, rather than simply a senior UK payroll manager with an international title.

For a Head of EMEA Payroll in the UK, I’d run a short, targeted search with 3–5 specialist payroll recruiters rather than a general HR agency. The strongest first calls are Frazer Jones , Portfolio Payroll , Middlemore , and JGA Recruitment ; add Hays if you also want a broader contingency market scan or interim cover.

Recommended firms

| Firm | Why approach them | Best use |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Frazer Jones | A global HR and executive-search consultancy with a dedicated payroll practice; it explicitly recruits executive payroll and benefits professionals with UK, EMEA and global remits, including EMEA payroll managers. frazerjones +1 | Primary retained or exclusive search for the leadership hire |

| Portfolio Payroll | A long-established UK payroll-only recruiter with dedicated permanent, executive and interim teams; it recruits from payroll administrators through Heads of Payroll and Payroll Directors. theportfoliogroup +2 | Strong specialist market coverage; useful for executive search and interim cover |

| Middlemore | London-based specialist executive search and recruitment firm focused on Global Payroll, HR, HRIS, Finance and Reward; it supports strategic payroll leadership, global payroll transformation, compliance, vendor management and governance. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore) | Excellent fit for a multinational role with transformation, outsourced-provider and compliance complexity |

| JGA Recruitment Group | Specialist payroll, HR and reward recruiter operating across the UK and EMEA, with stated expertise in EMEA and international payroll directors, managers and executives, plus executive-search capability. goodcompanies.co +1 | Strong contingency option for EMEA/international payroll leadership |

| Hays | Large UK recruiter actively advertising international and EMEA payroll roles; useful for a wider candidate net and interim/temporary senior payroll coverage. [hays.co](https://www.hays.co.uk/job-search/international-payroll-specialist-jobs) | Supplementary search, interim management, or market benchmarking |

| McKinnon Talent | UK payroll-only recruiter covering in-house, outsourced, bureau and accountancy environments from entry level to senior leadership. [mckinnontalent](https://www.mckinnontalent.co.uk/) | Secondary specialist option, particularly if you want additional UK-market coverage |

Suggested approach

• Run one exclusive/retained search with Frazer Jones or Middlemore, given the seniority, multi-country scope and reporting line into US payroll leadership.

• Add one or two contingency specialists —Portfolio Payroll and JGA—to widen access without duplicating the retained firm’s work.

• Keep Hays in reserve for interim cover while the permanent hire is recruited, or for a parallel market-mapping exercise.

Brief for the recruiters

Make clear that the mandate is not simply “UK payroll manager.” Specify:

• Ownership of payroll delivery, governance and compliance across multiple European countries.

• Experience managing in-country providers, shared-service teams, payroll vendors and local statutory requirements.

• Familiarity with payroll platforms/integrations, controls, audits, and US-parent reporting.

• UK-based leadership presence, with travel across EMEA as needed.

• Reporting into US payroll leadership, including the need to operate comfortably across time zones and corporate reporting structures.

Firms such as Middlemore and Frazer Jones are particularly relevant because their stated remits include global payroll leadership, transformation, vendor management and executive-level payroll appointments. gpa +2