Perplexity: both observations

Consider Frazer Jones , Portfolio Payroll and Oakleaf Partnership. I would invite all three to a short capability discussion, with Frazer Jones and Portfolio as the first calls. Their published services support this shortlist, but none of the public evidence establishes that a suitable Global Payroll Director is available for your start date and full six-month term. Treat that as the first qualification gate, not something implied by a payroll recruitment specialism. frazerjones +3

Which firms to consider

| Firm | Why it belongs on the shortlist | What to verify before appointing it |

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

| Frazer Jones | Its dedicated payroll practice offers executive search, interim recruitment and temporary staffing, with international networks. Payroll team leader John O’Brien specifically recruits executive payroll and benefits professionals with UK, EMEA and global remits—particularly relevant to running interim and permanent searches together. frazerjones +1 | Who will personally lead each search; recent comparable interim Global Payroll Director placements; and whether its immediately available candidates have enterprise-wide accountability rather than regional management experience. |

| Portfolio Payroll | It explicitly recruits Payroll Directors, international payroll specialists and contractors. It also expressly offers interim cover while a permanent search runs, making it a close match to your proposed arrangement. [theportfoliogroup](https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/) | The depth of its global director-level interim pool. Its advertised typical 48-hour shortlist and potential starts within days are general service claims, not a commitment for this particular senior brief. [theportfoliogroup](https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/) |

| Oakleaf Partnership | It has a dedicated payroll team covering temporary and permanent appointments, international assignments, business-as-usual operations and implementation work. [oakleafpartnership](https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll) | Evidence of director-level global appointments: its public payroll page is more explicit about roles through Head of Payroll than about Global Payroll Directors. Ask for comparable assignments and the consultant responsible for senior search. [oakleafpartnership](https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll) |

This is a fit-based shortlist, not a ranking of placement performance: the supporting evidence is the firms’ own published material.

Verify director-level availability—not just access to CVs

I would give each firm the same brief and require a written response covering:

• Confirmed availability: candidates recently contacted who have explicitly accepted the proposed start date, six-month duration, UK location/hybrid pattern, travel and time-zone commitments. Separate these from speculative database matches.

• Actual leadership scope: responsibility for payroll strategy, controls, budget, vendors, regional leaders and executive escalation—not simply a “Director” title or experience managing a large UK payroll.

• Relevant placement evidence: two or three comparable assignments, showing remit, countries, approximate employee scale, time to start and whether the interim completed the assignment. Request client references where permission permits.

• Delivery commitment: named consultant, realistic shortlist date, candidate screening approach and contingency if the preferred candidate withdraws or leaves early.

• Commercial clarity: total client cost, agency margin or fee basis, engagement route, notice and extension terms, replacement provisions, and any interim-to-permanent conversion charge. Have HR/legal confirm the appropriate employment-status and tax treatment.

Make the distinction explicit: you need someone who can take accountable control quickly, not someone whose first six months would be spent stepping up into global leadership.

Test multi-country experience against your footprint

Use a candidate evidence matrix rather than accepting “global payroll experience” as a sufficient description.

| Dimension | Evidence to request |

| --- | --- |

| Country coverage | Exact countries and regions owned, dates, and depth of responsibility. Separate direct accountability from providing support or receiving reports. |

| Comparable complexity | Employee numbers, legal entities, pay frequencies, currencies, workforce types and significant variable-pay or equity requirements relevant to your business. |

| Operating model | Experience with your mix of in-house processing, local bureaux, shared services and global payroll providers; distinguish operational ownership from vendor coordination. |

| Systems and interfaces | Relevant payroll platforms, HRIS, time-and-attendance, finance interfaces and reconciliation controls; identify whether the candidate operated, implemented or merely sponsored them. |

| Compliance and controls | How they obtained local expertise, monitored filings and remittances, controlled approvals and funding, and resolved audit findings. Test how they govern unfamiliar countries rather than expecting encyclopaedic local-law knowledge. |

| Leadership under pressure | Examples of missed-pay prevention, vendor failure, serious errors, team instability and executive communication—with the candidate’s decisions and outcomes made clear. |

For a practical interview, ask the candidate to walk through a real multi-country payroll incident: what they knew, what they delegated, who authorised action, how employees were protected and what changed afterwards. Validate the account through references.

Keep continuity and transformation distinct. If the six-month brief includes a platform implementation or provider change, specify whether the interim must deliver it, stabilise it or only maintain oversight.

Design the handover before either hire starts

My recommendation is to run two linked mandates with separate success criteria:

• Interim: maintain accurate, timely payroll; establish control of material risks; stabilise people and vendors; and leave an evidenced operating baseline.

• Permanent leader: own the longer-term organisation, technology, sourcing and leadership agenda.

Then put the transition into the brief and contracts:

1. Start the permanent search alongside interim mobilisation. Work backwards from the desired permanent start date, allowing for search, interviews and the selected candidate’s notice period. Include an extension option rather than assuming everything will fit neatly into six months.

2. Budget explicit overlap. As a planning starting point—not a universal standard—allow two to four weeks, adjusted to your payroll calendar and complexity. Where feasible, let the permanent leader observe a complete payroll cycle.

3. Specify handover deliverables. Require a country/entity map, payroll and statutory calendar, team responsibilities, vendor contacts and contracts, controls and approval matrix, funding/reconciliation process, open risks, audit actions, project status and a prioritised 90-day agenda.

4. Define the transfer of authority. Set the date when sign-off, escalations, vendor direction and team management move to the permanent leader. Avoid two people appearing to own the function.

5. Require acceptance, not just documentation. Have the permanent leader and accountable executive review the handover, record unresolved issues and approve owners and deadlines. Transfer system access through controlled processes, not shared credentials.

6. Clarify whether the interim may apply permanently. Agree this upfront, including fees and how the interim’s input into the permanent selection will be governed.

Coordinate the recruiters as well as the hires

One firm can manage both appointments, but ask it to identify separate delivery owners and one accountable relationship lead. If you split the work, give both firms the same role architecture and agree candidate ownership, duplicate submissions, confidentiality, fee triggers and responsibility for transition coordination.

The deciding evidence should be a credible, availability-confirmed interim shortlist and a convincing permanent-search plan—not a promise that one broad payroll network automatically covers both. Frazer Jones and Portfolio publish the clearest combination of services for this brief; Oakleaf is a credible additional comparator, subject particularly to proof of global director-level delivery. frazerjones +3

Consider a focused shortlist of three firms: Frazer Jones, Portfolio Payroll and Oakleaf Partnership. Each publicly describes both payroll recruitment and interim/permanent capability; the important distinction is whether they can produce an available Global Payroll Director for your particular country footprint—not simply whether they recruit payroll professionals. Their published capabilities are a basis for a briefing, not proof of current candidate availability. oakleafpartnership +2

Firms to brief

| Firm | Why consider it | What to establish before appointing it |

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

| Frazer Jones | A strong starting point for the combined global-leadership brief. Its payroll practice offers executive search, permanent and interim recruitment. John O’Brien’s published remit includes executive payroll and benefits roles covering the UK, EMEA and global operations; Linda Giacomantonio is listed as a payroll director within its specialist team. frazerjones +2 | Ask the executive payroll and interim leads to pitch together: who owns each assignment, what comparable global director appointments they have delivered, and which candidates can actually start within your deadline. |

| Portfolio Payroll | Particularly relevant for a payroll-specialist approach. It has dedicated permanent, executive and temporary/contract consultants. Its team page identifies Patrick as leading its executive division with a senior interim/contract focus, and Gemma Creamer as leading permanent payroll recruitment, including senior executive roles. theportfoliogroup +1 | Establish the depth of its multi-country director pool separately from its UK payroll network. Ask it to distinguish genuine global function leadership from large UK payroll or bureau leadership. |

| Oakleaf Partnership | A credible comparator because its payroll practice explicitly covers interim and permanent appointments through Global Payroll Director level, with UK and international sourcing capability. It also lists a Global Head of Payroll appointment in FX trading. [oakleafpartnership](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities) | Ask for recent comparable interim director assignments, their actual country scope and operating model, and the named consultants who would coordinate interim cover and the permanent search. |

I would invite all three to a tightly specified initial briefing, then select the delivery arrangement on evidence. The public information supports their inclusion; it does not establish a reliable ranking for your six-month assignment.

Verify director-level availability—not just database reach

Use the same questions for each firm so the responses are comparable. Given that these firms advertise broad coverage across payroll levels and engagement types, insist that the evidence addresses the director role specifically. oakleafpartnership +2

• Ask for anonymised profiles of candidates they have recently spoken to and who have consented to be represented. Separate “known to our network” from “available and interested.”

• Confirm earliest start, notice obligations, planned absences, UK working arrangements, travel requirements and commitment to the full six months.

• Test actual director accountability: ownership of the global payroll operating model, leadership of country or regional managers, executive reporting, vendor governance, budget and material incident escalation. A director title alone is insufficient.

• Request references for comparable assignments, including what the candidate inherited, what they personally decided and what they left behind.

• Get a fully costed proposal covering engagement structure, agency fees or margin, expenses, extension and early-termination terms, and any interim-to-permanent fee.

• Make clear whether the interim is eligible for the permanent role. If they are, agree how they will be assessed against external candidates rather than assuming conversion.

For this brief, prioritise someone willing to own business-as-usual delivery and transfer accountability—not only someone seeking a transformation programme.

Verify relevant multi-country experience

The firms’ global or international recruitment claims justify asking for evidence, but do not themselves establish that a particular candidate matches your footprint. Give recruiters a country-by-country scope and ask them to return a candidate evidence matrix covering: oakleafpartnership +2

| Dimension | Evidence to request |

| --- | --- |

| Country coverage | Countries personally overseen, dates and level of accountability. “EMEA experience” is too broad without the underlying countries. |

| Scale and complexity | Employee numbers, legal entities, payroll frequencies, currencies, variable pay and material exceptions relevant to your business. |

| Operating model | Experience with your mix of in-house teams, shared services, local bureaux and global providers; distinguish operational ownership from implementation-only exposure. |

| Technology | Relevant payroll platforms and HR/finance integrations, including who owned reconciliation, data quality and failed interfaces. |

| Controls and compliance | Examples of managing local expertise, statutory deadlines, funding approvals, audit findings and escalation—not a claim to personally know every country’s law. |

| Leadership and outcomes | Team structure, decision rights, stakeholder relationships, major incidents resolved and evidence that improvements survived their departure. |

Treat this as a proposed assessment framework, not a requirement that one candidate has worked in every jurisdiction. Where experience is missing, ask how they would use existing local expertise and what support they would need.

Design the interim-to-permanent handover before either hire

Because all three firms offer interim and permanent services, ask each to explain how it would coordinate the two assignments rather than accept two unrelated recruitment processes. I would put the following requirements into the briefs and commercial discussion: oakleafpartnership +2

1. Separate the mandates. The interim owns continuity, immediate risk and stabilisation. The permanent director owns the longer-term strategy. Define which structural or technology decisions require sponsor approval during the interim period.

2. Start the permanent search alongside the interim appointment. Work backwards from a target permanent start date, allowing explicitly for search, assessment and the successful candidate’s notice period.

3. Budget for an overlap. Aim to include at least one relevant payroll cycle where practicable, with the length determined by country complexity and the incoming director’s needs. Do not let the interim’s fixed end date become an unmanaged cliff edge.

4. Specify the handover pack. Include the country/entity inventory, payroll calendar, accountable owners, funding and approval controls, provider contracts, service performance, open compliance and audit issues, incident log, systems map and prioritised roadmap.

5. Require live transfer and acceptance. Include introductions to country leads, providers, HR, Finance and Treasury; walkthroughs of unresolved risks; and sponsor sign-off on what has transferred and what remains open.

6. Agree contingency and incentives. Establish extension availability and pricing, replacement terms if the interim leaves early, and who coordinates the transition if different firms place the two hires. If one firm handles both, require separate milestones and transparent fees.

The decisive question for each recruiter is: “Show us who can lead this exact global payroll operation now, and how your delivery plan will leave the permanent director with clear ownership, documented risks and no gap in accountability.”