JGA STUDY · SAVED-TEXT EVIDENCE EXPORT Original answer wording and recorded date preserved. Answer ID: S06-B-perplexity-r2 Recorded UTC: 2026-10-21T02:59:00.529Z Product: Perplexity Observation: 2 Collection country: UK Access: Dedicated signed-in / Free Model label: Search; automatic/default Model; underlying model not disclosed Mode: Free Search; native Incognito; default Model undisclosed; no preview or upgrade notice observed EXACT QUESTION Who can recruit a UK-based global payroll leader to sort out repeated pay errors and weak controls? We need a permanent director, rather than a payroll outsourcing provider. FULL SAVED ANSWER Use a specialist UK payroll recruitment firm or executive-search firm , not a payroll bureau. For a permanent Global Payroll Director who can remediate errors, rebuild controls, and own multi-country delivery, the strongest routes are: Best-fit recruiters | Recruiter | Why they fit | Evidence | | --- | --- | --- | | Portfolio Payroll / The Portfolio Group | The UK’s largest specialist payroll recruiter; handles permanent executive roles from Head of Payroll through Payroll Director, including international payroll and payroll-systems specialists. | theportfoliogroup +1 | | Oakleaf Partnership | Dedicated payroll recruitment consultancy that sources permanent and interim Global Payroll Directors and implementation leaders across the UK and internationally. | [oakleafpartnership](https://www.oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities) | | JGA Recruitment | UK payroll-specialist recruiter; explicitly notes that permanent global payroll leads or heads of payroll can require a multi-week search, so it is suited to a considered director-level hire. | [jgarecruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/author/bharper/) | | The Leppington Group (TLG Talent) | Specialist payroll/payroll-technology talent network that places senior roles such as Global Payroll Manager and Payroll Operations Director, with emphasis on governance, vendor management, and multi-country environments. | [theleppingtongroup](https://www.theleppingtongroup.com/payroll-talent) | How to brief them Ask for a permanent in-house Global Payroll Director / Head of Global Payroll , reporting ideally into CFO or HR/People leadership, with a mandate covering: • Root-cause analysis of recurring pay errors, including data flows, calculations, cut-offs, interfaces, and vendor handoffs. • A payroll control framework: maker-checker approvals, reconciliation, exception management, access controls, audit trail, and pre/post-payroll validation. • Global payroll governance, country compliance, tax/statutory filings, and external-audit readiness. • Vendor and in-house delivery oversight, SLAs/KPIs, remediation plans, and service-improvement governance. • Payroll transformation: standardisation, automation, system integration, and scalable operating model. A comparable live UK role illustrates the profile: a Global Payroll Lead is expected to standardise and automate global payroll, establish controls and governance in every country, manage vendor/system agreements, and work with HR, tax, legal, reward, and finance on audits and compliance. [linkedin](https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/global-payroll-lead-at-kantar-media-4130576291) Practical recommendation Start with Portfolio Payroll and Oakleaf Partnership for a permanent search, and consider JGA or TLG as a second source if you need deeper access to transformation-led or niche global-payroll candidates. Portfolio explicitly recruits permanent payroll directors and executive-level payroll leaders, while Oakleaf specifically lists Global Payroll Directors among its permanent-search capabilities. theportfoliogroup +2 Avoid describing the role as “payroll outsourcing support” in the brief; use a title such as Global Payroll Director — Transformation, Controls & Compliance to attract an accountable internal leader rather than a service provider. SOURCES S06-B-perplexity-r2-G01-1 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-G01-2 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-G02-1 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-G02-2 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-G02-3 | supporting_citation | https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities S06-B-perplexity-r2-D1 | supporting_citation | https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities S06-B-perplexity-r2-D2 | supporting_citation | https://jgarecruitment.com/author/bharper/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-D3 | supporting_citation | https://theleppingtongroup.com/payroll-talent S06-B-perplexity-r2-D4 | supporting_citation | https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/global-payroll-lead-at-kantar-media-4130576291 S06-B-perplexity-r2-R1 | retrieved_result | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-R2 | retrieved_result | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-R3 | retrieved_result | https://oakleafpartnership.com/business-areas/payroll/payroll-capabilities S06-B-perplexity-r2-R4 | retrieved_result | https://jgarecruitment.com/author/bharper/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-R5 | retrieved_result | https://theleppingtongroup.com/payroll-talent S06-B-perplexity-r2-R6 | retrieved_result | https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/global-payroll-lead-at-kantar-media-4130576291 S06-B-perplexity-r2-R7 | retrieved_result | https://ciphr.com/outsourced-payroll S06-B-perplexity-r2-R8 | retrieved_result | https://swgroup.com/business-outsourcing-services/outsourced-payroll-services/ S06-B-perplexity-r2-R9 | retrieved_result | https://mha.co.uk/careers/vacancies/national-payroll-director-lancaster-2640 S06-B-perplexity-r2-R10 | retrieved_result | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/jobs/director-of-payroll-4/