ChatGPT: both observations

For this brief, I’d start with specialist payroll recruiters that explicitly cover both interim and permanent senior appointments , rather than using a general executive-search firm for both roles.

Your CFO needs six months of credible global payroll leadership cover, while the talent team runs a permanent search. The key is to treat these as two connected appointments: the interim leader must protect payroll delivery, and the permanent Head of Global Payroll must inherit a clear operating picture, documented risks and an agreed improvement plan.

Recruitment partners to shortlist

1. Frazer Jones

Strongest dual-brief fit

Frazer Jones explicitly offers interim payroll recruitment, permanent recruitment and executive search. It recruits internationally and covers senior payroll leadership, making it a strong candidate to coordinate both appointments through one recruitment partner. Frazer Jones +1

Ask them to: run the permanent search alongside a six-month interim mandate, with an agreed transition plan between the two leaders.

Contact: John O’Brien, Executive Director and Head of Payroll, UK — +44 20 7415 2171.

[Website and payroll recruitment services](https://www.frazerjones.com/payroll/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

2. Oakleaf Partnership

Oakleaf has a dedicated payroll recruitment practice covering interim and permanent assignments, including Global Payroll Directors and Global Heads of Payroll. It also reports experience recruiting interim Heads of Payroll, so its stated remit maps closely to your immediate cover requirement and permanent leadership search. Oakleaf

Ask them to: demonstrate their available interim candidates with genuine multi-country payroll ownership experience, not just UK payroll management.

[Payroll recruitment capabilities](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

3. Portfolio Payroll

Portfolio Payroll has dedicated permanent, temporary/contract and executive-search recruitment teams. It recruits at Head of Payroll and director level and says it works with clients' internal resourcing teams. That makes it worth considering if your talent team wants to retain control of the permanent process while using a specialist partner for interim cover. Portfolio Payroll

Ask them to: identify candidates who can start quickly and confirm whether they can run both searches under a coordinated service arrangement.

London office: 1 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AE · +44 20 7247 9455.

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

4. JGA Recruitment Group

JGA is a specialist payroll and HR recruiter with temporary and permanent recruitment capabilities, including international payroll roles. It is a useful additional option for testing the depth of the candidate market, especially if your global payroll remit includes transformation, compliance and vendor management. google.com +1

Ask them to: evidence recent senior global payroll placements and their ability to source a credible interim leader within your required timeframe.

Office: Harpenden, Hertfordshire · +44 1727 800377.

[Recruitment firm website](https://jgarecruitment.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

How to make the six-month handover work

I would give the selected partner a single coordinated brief with two distinct role specifications and one shared transition outcome.

Months 1–2: Stabilise and diagnose

The interim leader takes ownership of payroll governance, upcoming pay cycles, country-level risks, provider performance, escalations and key stakeholder relationships. They establish a baseline of controls, service levels and outstanding issues.

Months 1–3: Recruit the permanent head

Start the permanent search immediately. Assess candidates on multi-country payroll leadership, local compliance oversight, vendor management, systems expertise, transformation experience and their ability to lead a distributed team.

Months 3–5: Overlap and transfer ownership

Where start dates permit, arrange a paid overlap. The interim leader transfers the country-by-country payroll calendar, control evidence, provider contacts, open risks, reconciliations, system dependencies and transformation roadmap.

Month 6: Sign off the transition

The permanent head accepts ownership of the operating plan, outstanding actions, escalation routes, key controls and reporting cadence. The CFO receives a final risk and continuity report.

Important: don't make the handover depend on the permanent hire starting by a fixed month. Agree an extension option, if commercially feasible, and a contingency if the search runs late. Payroll cut-off dates and statutory deadlines should take priority over an arbitrary end date.

What to ask each recruitment partner before appointing them

• Can you deliver both briefs under one accountable relationship manager, with separate assessment criteria and fee terms?

• How many interim candidates have personally led payroll across multiple countries, and which geographies, providers and payroll platforms have they managed?

• Can the interim candidate start within the required window and commit to the full six months?

• How will you avoid conflicts of interest between the interim appointment and permanent search?

• Will you help define handover deliverables, overlap arrangements and a contingency if the permanent appointment is delayed?

• Can you provide a realistic shortlist timetable, indicative fees, notice periods and replacement terms?

My suggested first conversations would be with Frazer Jones, Oakleaf and Portfolio Payroll . Their published service offerings most directly address the two payroll briefs; ask all three to demonstrate their actual candidate availability and senior global-payroll track record before selecting one.

One point would help refine the shortlist: how many countries does the global payroll cover, and is it mostly outsourced to providers or run in-house? That will materially change the type of interim leader you should target.

For this brief, I’d prioritise specialist global-payroll recruiters that cover both interim and permanent leadership , rather than running two disconnected searches. Your six-month cover needs to maintain payroll continuity across countries, providers and systems while the permanent Head of Global Payroll is recruited — and the interim leader must be willing and able to hand over properly.

I’d start with three specialist firms, then consider a broader executive-search partner if the permanent role is particularly strategic.

Recommended recruitment partners

1. Middlemore

Best overall fit

Why it fits: A specialist global-payroll search firm covering interim and permanent talent from senior management through Director and VP level. Its expertise includes payroll transformation, multi-country governance, vendor management, compliance and HRIS implementation.

Ask them to: Run both briefs through one coordinated search, with the interim leader available quickly and the permanent candidate assessed against the same long-term operating model.

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

2. Oakleaf Partnership

Why it fits: Its dedicated payroll practice explicitly handles interim and permanent assignments, UK-wide and internationally. Published placement examples include both an Interim Head of Payroll and Global Heads of Payroll, making the combination of briefs particularly relevant.

Ask them to: Provide an immediately available interim shortlist alongside a permanent leadership search, with evidence of candidates' global payroll ownership rather than UK-only payroll management.

Website: [oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll ](https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

3. Frazer Jones

Why it fits: Offers payroll-specific recruitment, international candidate networks, executive search, interim solutions and temporary staffing. It is a strong option if the permanent Head of Global Payroll role sits within a wider HR, reward or people-operations structure.

Ask them to: Pair the payroll search specialist with the interim team so the two appointments have aligned role definitions, competencies and expectations for the handover.

Website: [frazerjones.com/payroll ](https://frazerjones.com/payroll/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

4. The Leppington Group

Why it fits: A useful specialist alternative with a known-network talent service for permanent, interim and contract appointments. Its stated focus includes global payroll leadership, payroll technology and vendor-side as well as client-side experience. It also offers separate payroll continuity and change-management services.

Ask them to: Explain whether they can coordinate the two leadership appointments and, if required, support the operational continuity plan beyond recruitment.

Website: [theleppingtongroup.com/payroll-talent ](https://theleppingtongroup.com/payroll-talent?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

How I would structure the six-month cover and handover

Recruitment alone won't guarantee continuity. I would give the chosen partner a single brief covering both hires and ask for a milestone-based transition plan.

Phase 1 — Mobilise the interim leader

Weeks 1–2

Confirm payroll calendars, countries, provider contracts, key controls, escalation routes, critical deadlines and any current delivery risks. The interim should establish a baseline for payroll accuracy and on-time delivery.

Phase 2 — Run the permanent search in parallel

Weeks 1–10, adjusted to market conditions

Agree the leadership mandate with the CFO: steady-state operations, controls and compliance, global vendor governance, systems strategy and transformation priorities. Assess permanent candidates against this mandate rather than simply replicating the interim's profile.

Phase 3 — Structured overlap

Target 2–4 weeks before the interim's planned exit

Have the interim brief the incoming leader on country-specific risks, payroll exceptions, provider performance, key stakeholders, open projects, audit issues and upcoming pay cycles. Arrange joint meetings with critical vendors and regional finance/HR leads.

Phase 4 — Exit against agreed criteria

By month 6

The CFO signs off the handover checklist, documented procedures, access and approval ownership, outstanding risks, the next payroll-cycle plan and clear escalation responsibilities. Build a contingency extension into the interim agreement if the permanent appointment is delayed.

What to ask each recruiter before appointing them

• Availability: Can they present credible interim leaders who can start within your required timeframe and commit for six months?

• Global scale: Which countries, payroll models, outsourced providers and HR/payroll platforms have their candidates actually managed?

• Permanent search capability: Can they provide a separate permanent shortlist without compromising the speed of interim cover?

• Handover commitment: Will they include a written transition plan, defined overlap period and extension option in the proposal?

• Commercial terms: Request separate interim and permanent fees, replacement guarantees where applicable, and clarity on whether the same firm can manage both searches without conflicts.

My recommendation

Invite Middlemore, Oakleaf Partnership and Frazer Jones to a short competitive briefing. Ask each to demonstrate a realistic interim candidate pipeline and permanent search plan, not just general payroll recruitment credentials. Include The Leppington Group if operational continuity or payroll transformation support is also needed.

One important point for the CFO: the interim appointment should be judged on operational stability, while the permanent appointment should be judged on long-term leadership capability. They need aligned objectives, but they do not necessarily need identical profiles.