Claude: both observations

Here’s a starting shortlist. Treat it as a set of firms to approach, not a ranking: I haven’t seen their current placement records at director level, and some of the evidence below is dated.

Firms worth approaching

Payroll and HR specialists (most likely to have director-level interim networks)

• Frazer Jones. A global HR recruitment specialist. Its payroll team has a London director who focuses on interim payroll hires. Its listings include a “Global Payroll Operations Leader” interim brief, 3-6 months, described as cover while the client recruits a permanent head. That is close to your situation, though that listing dates from 2023.

• Altum Consulting. It has advertised an interim Global Director of Payroll for a London tech business. That makes it a direct comparator for the title and scope you describe.

• Oakleaf Partnership. It describes itself as the UK’s largest independent HR recruitment consultancy and places interim global payroll roles. The examples I found sit at manager and analyst level, so check how deep its director bench goes.

• LMA Recruitment. An HR specialist with international payroll interim work (listing dated 2019). Likely stronger on reward and payroll-adjacent profiles.

Finance-led generalists (a wider net, quality varies by consultant)

• Page Personnel / Michael Page and Hays. Both have placed interim payroll heads and managers. The examples I found were mostly manager level, so ask for named director-level placements.

Also consider

• A retained executive search firm for the permanent role, ideally a different firm from your interim supplier. This avoids a conflict where the interim becomes the easy permanent candidate.

• Interim management providers such as Interim Partners, Alexander Mann or Cranfield-type networks, if you want pre-vetted senior interims beyond payroll specialists.

• Global payroll vendors and consultancies (e.g. outsourcers and advisory firms). Their senior practitioners sometimes take interim assignments. Watch for conflicts of interest if you use or are choosing a vendor.

I’d brief two or three firms on the interim and run the permanent search separately.

What to verify: availability

• Named candidates, not “our network”. Ask for 3-5 specific people who could start within your window, with confirmed notice periods or contract end dates.

• Recent director-level interim placements. Ask for examples from the last 12-24 months at director or head level, not manager. Much of the market in the listings I found is manager level.

• Day rate and terms. Confirm rate expectations, IR35 status, whether they’d work through a PSC or umbrella, and the likelihood of a 6-month fixed end date with a short extension option.

• Time commitment and location. Check whether they will be on site, hybrid or remote, and whether international travel is needed.

• Exclusivity and fees. Check conversion or “temp-to-perm” fees if the interim later becomes permanent, and whether any restrictions apply to your hiring the interim directly.

What to verify: multi-country experience

• Same footprint as yours. Which countries have they run or governed, and at what scale (headcount, number of payrolls, in-house versus outsourced)?

• Operating model fit. Have they worked with your type of model: a single global provider, local in-country providers, or a hybrid? Have they managed vendors like yours?

• Governance and compliance. Look for experience with audit and controls, SOX or equivalent, year-end and statutory reporting, and handling payroll errors and regulator contact.

• Change experience. Ask about system migrations, new country launches, M&A integration and provider transitions, if those are on your roadmap.

• Director-level evidence. Probe what they owned (budget, team, board reporting) versus what sat with others.

• References. Speak to at least two previous employers or reporting managers, ideally including someone from the finance or HR leadership side.

What to verify: the handover between the two hires

• Overlap. Agree at the outset how much overlap you want (often 2-4 weeks) and whether the interim contract allows for it.

• Defined deliverables. Write the interim’s scope into the contract: stabilisation priorities, open risks, vendor issues, calendar of critical dates, and a handover pack.

• Handover pack. It should cover the payroll calendar, country-by-country status, vendor contracts and SLAs, open audit points, key people and succession risks, and in-flight projects.

• Interim’s role in the permanent search. Decide whether they can be a candidate, and put that in writing up front. Also decide whether they will help assess candidates, which can be useful but risks a conflict.

• Timing. Align the interim end date to a realistic permanent start date, including the new hire’s notice period, and include an extension clause so a slipping search doesn’t leave a gap.

• Fee and conflict check. Confirm that the interim supplier and the permanent search firm are not financially incentivised to push the same candidate.

• Knowledge transfer ownership. Name who on your side owns the handover (HR director, CFO or similar), so it doesn’t rest on the two individuals alone.

If you can tell me your size, countries, sector and whether the permanent search is retained or contingent, I can tighten the shortlist and draft a briefing note for the firms.

I can’t verify any firm’s current director-level bench from public sources, so treat this as a longlist to test in briefing calls, not a ranking.

Firms worth shortlisting

Payroll and HR specialists with visible activity at this level

• Frazer Jones (part of SR Group): It describes itself as a global HR recruitment and executive search consultancy, with executive search, permanent and interim payroll recruitment. It has advertised interim global payroll leadership roles, including a 3-6 month assignment covering while a client recruits a permanent head. That is close to your set-up, although the example I found is dated 2023. [frazerjones](https://www.frazerjones.com/?p=140035) [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401667189/global-payroll-operations-leader/)

• Altum Consulting: It has recruited for an interim Global Director of Payroll at a London technology business, with a brief covering multi-country payroll, transformation and M&A integration. [itjobswatch](https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jv/Altum-Consulting/Interim-Director-of-Payroll-Job-London-South-East-England-UK-4w1wc9)

Broader finance and interim firms

• Robert Half: It lists an interim Global Payroll Manager 6-month contract. That is a manager-level role, so check whether they really reach director level or mainly place at manager grade. [roberthalf](https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en/jobs/camberley/remote)

• Page Executive / Michael Page, Hays, Harvey Nash and Odgers Interim: These are from my general knowledge, not this search. Verify that each has a dedicated payroll or HR-operations interim desk.

Structural point on the permanent search

You could ask your permanent search firm to run the interim too, which makes the handover easier. The risk is that it has an incentive to keep the interim candidate away from the permanent role, or to push them toward it. Using a separate interim specialist keeps the two roles cleaner. Ask each firm which model it would use and how it handles that conflict.

What to verify

Director-level availability

• Ask for named candidates, not a “we have a strong network” answer. Ask how many they have placed at global payroll director level in the last 24 months.

• Check notice periods and real start dates. One advertised interim role I found asked for one month’s notice or less, so confirm whether that fits your timeline. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401667865/global-payroll-manager/)

• Ask how many candidates are currently between assignments. Interim directors are often committed months ahead.

• Check day-rate expectations and who contracts them (limited company, umbrella or the agency’s PSC arrangement). Ask the firm to explain its approach to IR35 status determination.

• Confirm the fee structure for a 6-month interim, and whether the agency charges a conversion fee if the interim later goes permanent.

Multi-country experience

• Match countries and regions to your footprint, not just “global”. Ask for the specific countries, the number of payrolls and the headcount covered.

• Find out whether they have managed vendor models similar to yours (in-country providers, a global aggregator or in-house). Related experience matters, such as managing multiple country payrolls and payroll vendor relationships. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401667189/global-payroll-operations-leader/)

• Test their record on controls and audit (SOX or equivalent), new country launches, system changes and M&A integration.

• Ask for references from previous interim assignments, ideally someone who took over from them, not just a line manager.

• Check that they have worked as an interim before. Running a function for six months with no embedding time is a different skill from permanent leadership.

Handover between the two hires

• Decide the overlap up front. A 2-4 week overlap is common, but it depends on how long the permanent search takes and the permanent hire’s notice period.

• Ask both firms how they would handle a gap or overlap if the permanent hire starts late, and what happens if the interim’s contract ends first. Build an extension option into the interim contract.

• Define the interim’s mandate in writing: what they must stabilise, what they must not change, and what is left for the permanent hire to decide.

• Require a structured handover pack covering vendor contracts, country calendar and risk register, open audit points, system roadmap and team assessments.

• Agree whether the interim sits on the permanent hire’s interview panel. A bad outcome is an interim who becomes a rival candidate.

• Clarify the position on internal candidates. If you want the interim to be eligible, say so openly with all parties.

I’d suggest briefing three or four firms with the same written spec and comparing the candidates and the answers on the points above, not the sales pitch.