JGA STUDY · SAVED-TEXT EVIDENCE EXPORT Original answer wording and recorded date preserved. Answer ID: S09-D-perplexity-r1 Recorded UTC: 2026-10-20T01:26:39.399Z Product: Perplexity Observation: 1 Collection country: UK Access: Dedicated signed-in / Free Model label: Search; automatic/default Model Mode: Free plan Search; native Incognito; underlying model not disclosed EXACT QUESTION Which specialist recruitment firms could help our Manchester finance team hire a permanent Head of Payroll to manage UK and European payroll providers? The role is hybrid in Manchester and needs supplier oversight and service-transition experience. FULL SAVED ANSWER For a permanent, hybrid Manchester Head of Payroll with UK/European provider management and transition experience, I’d start with Portfolio Payroll , McKinnon Talent , and JGA Recruitment —all are payroll-specialist firms with relevant senior, EMEA, and Manchester-market coverage. Add a broader finance-search firm such as Hays or a Manchester-based finance specialist for reach into finance-led senior hires. hays +4 Recommended shortlist | Firm | Why they fit this brief | Best use | | --- | --- | --- | | Portfolio Payroll / The Portfolio Group | UK’s long-established specialist payroll recruiter, with a Manchester office and dedicated permanent and executive teams. It recruits up to Head of Payroll and Payroll Director level, including international payroll and payroll systems implementation specialists. theportfoliogroup +3 | Primary search partner for a permanent senior appointment; ask for candidates who have run outsourced UK/EU payroll and led TUPE/service transitions. | | McKinnon Talent | Manchester-based payroll specialist recruiting Head of Payroll, EMEA Payroll Manager, Global Payroll Manager, and implementation-consultant profiles; it covers permanent, contract, and temporary roles. linkedin +2 | Strong local option for candidates with EMEA payroll-provider oversight and implementation/change experience. | | JGA Recruitment Group | Specialist payroll recruiter whose Manchester division is led by a recruiter with 18+ years placing UK and EMEA payroll roles; it also advertises senior EMEA Head of Payroll mandates. talents.studysmarter.co +1 | Good second agency for cross-border payroll leadership and multi-entity provider governance. | | Hays | Has dedicated UK payroll recruitment consultants and recruits Head of Payroll and international payroll roles, supported by a large national office network. [Trusted domain hays](https://hays.co.uk/jobs/accountancy-finance/payroll) | Useful for wider market coverage and benchmarking, especially if you want a finance-adjacent candidate pool as well as pure payroll leaders. | | Sellick Partnership | Manchester-based finance and accountancy recruiter covering payroll through to senior finance leadership, including management and senior-leadership appointments. [sellickpartnership.co](https://sellickpartnership.co.uk/specialisms/finance-accountancy-recruitment/) | Consider if the role reports into Finance and needs strong stakeholder, controls, and commercial leadership capability. | | Forge Talent | North West finance and accounting talent partner with relationships across large PLCs and SMEs. [forge-talent.co](https://forge-talent.co.uk/) | A regional contingency option for finance-led senior appointments, though less payroll-specialised than the firms above. | How to structure the search • Lead with Portfolio Payroll or McKinnon Talent for payroll-specific senior talent, then run JGA in parallel if you want competitive coverage of EMEA and transformation-heavy candidates. theportfoliogroup +2 • Brief for evidence, not titles. Require examples of managing multiple UK/European payroll vendors, SLA/KPI governance, compliance escalation, data integration, and a payroll provider migration or service transition. • Target adjacent profiles too: EMEA/Global Payroll Manager, Payroll Operations Director, Payroll Transformation Lead, and HR Shared Services payroll leads can all fit if they have provider-management and transition experience. • Use a retained or exclusive search for the permanent hire if the role owns European payroll providers and transformation; this usually produces a deeper, more confidential senior-level search than a multi-agency contingency brief. Suggested screening criteria • Has owned outsourced payroll delivery across the UK and at least several European countries. • Can evidence vendor selection, onboarding, SLA management, issue resolution, and exit/transition planning. • Understands payroll controls, statutory compliance, data privacy, and payroll-system integrations. • Has led or supported a payroll outsourcing transition, implementation, or provider change—ideally with TUPE or service-transfer exposure. • Is credible with Finance, HR, Works Councils/employee forums, and external suppliers in a hybrid Manchester leadership role. A practical starting instruction to the agencies would be: “Permanent Head of Payroll, hybrid Manchester; accountable for UK and European outsourced payroll providers, supplier performance, compliance, and service-transition delivery; seek EMEA payroll leadership, payroll transformation, and shared-services candidates.” SOURCES S09-D-perplexity-r1-C1 | supporting_citation | https://hays.co.uk/jobs/accountancy-finance/payroll S09-D-perplexity-r1-C2 | supporting_citation | https://sellickpartnership.co.uk/specialisms/finance-accountancy-recruitment/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-C3 | supporting_citation | https://forge-talent.co.uk/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G1 | supporting_citation | https://hays.co.uk/jobs/accountancy-finance/payroll S09-D-perplexity-r1-G2 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G3 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G4 | supporting_citation | https://mckinnontalent.co.uk/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G5 | supporting_citation | https://jgarecruitment.com/payroll-jobs-manchester/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G6 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G7 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G8 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/hire-with-portfolio-payroll/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G9 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/jobs/head-of-payroll-14/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G10 | supporting_citation | https://linkedin.com/in/lisavwilson S09-D-perplexity-r1-G11 | supporting_citation | https://linkedin.com/in/adam-mccartney-9a58b6139 S09-D-perplexity-r1-G12 | supporting_citation | https://mckinnontalent.co.uk/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G13 | supporting_citation | https://talents.studysmarter.co.uk/companies/jga-recruitment-group-b-corp/head-of-payroll-emea-54267510/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G14 | supporting_citation | https://jgarecruitment.com/payroll-jobs-manchester/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G15 | supporting_citation | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-G16 | supporting_citation | https://linkedin.com/in/lisavwilson S09-D-perplexity-r1-G17 | supporting_citation | https://talents.studysmarter.co.uk/companies/jga-recruitment-group-b-corp/head-of-payroll-emea-54267510/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R1 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/recruitment-services/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R2 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R3 | retrieved_source | https://hays.co.uk/jobs/accountancy-finance/payroll S09-D-perplexity-r1-R4 | retrieved_source | https://mckinnontalent.co.uk/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R5 | retrieved_source | https://jgarecruitment.com/payroll-jobs-manchester/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R6 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/hire-with-portfolio-payroll/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R7 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/jobs/head-of-payroll-14/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R8 | retrieved_source | https://linkedin.com/in/lisavwilson S09-D-perplexity-r1-R9 | retrieved_source | https://linkedin.com/in/adam-mccartney-9a58b6139 S09-D-perplexity-r1-R10 | retrieved_source | https://talents.studysmarter.co.uk/companies/jga-recruitment-group-b-corp/head-of-payroll-emea-54267510/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R11 | retrieved_source | https://sellickpartnership.co.uk/specialisms/finance-accountancy-recruitment/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R12 | retrieved_source | https://forge-talent.co.uk/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R13 | retrieved_source | https://careers.munichre.com/en/job/manchester/payroll-specialist/3342/44009085760 S09-D-perplexity-r1-R14 | retrieved_source | https://roberthalf.com/gb/en/jobs/all/recruitment-consultant S09-D-perplexity-r1-R15 | retrieved_source | https://reed.co.uk/jobs/head-of-payroll-jobs-in-greater-manchester S09-D-perplexity-r1-R16 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/register-with-us/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R17 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/register-a-vacancy/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R18 | retrieved_source | https://agencycentral.co.uk/agencysearch/bytown/lancashire-manchester.htm S09-D-perplexity-r1-R19 | retrieved_source | https://linkedin.com/in/emma-greenfield-b456bb47 S09-D-perplexity-r1-R20 | retrieved_source | https://bebee.com/gb/jobs/head-of-payroll-emea-jga-recruitment-group-b-corp-greater-london-england-united-kingdom--jobgoal-22539_3304cd3e851db0c5fce4cb8c127e5ed4 S09-D-perplexity-r1-R21 | retrieved_source | https://linkedin.com/in/nicki-edmondson-54096a115 S09-D-perplexity-r1-R22 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/payroll/jobs/european-payroll-specialist/ S09-D-perplexity-r1-R23 | retrieved_source | https://theportfoliogroup.com/