Nick Day
Managing Director
Nick Day
Nick Day is the founder of JGA Payroll Recruitment, a niche Global Payroll Recruitment Consultancy. An MA graduate, Nick is both REC and AIRS Qualified in recruitment practice and possesses over 15 years specialist global payroll recruitment expertise.
Nick began his career as a payroll recruitment consultant in 2002 where he developed to become one of the most successful experts in the industry with a proven track record of providing SME, FTSE and Global listed clients with niche Payroll candidates across all levels, all sectors and all locations.
Nick is a preferred supplier for many global companies requiring payroll talent and operating on both a contingency and a retained basis, he has subsequently influenced and progressed 100s of Payroll careers during this time.
Believing the industry needed a new approach to candidate search and selection, Nick decided to launch JGA Payroll Recruitment in 2008. Subsequently, JGA has followed a unique, proactive and focused inbound 24/7/365 digital strategy designed to engage passive talent so his team can provide clients with the best payroll candidates the industry has to offer – the top 15%.
JGA Recruitment were the first payroll agency to develop a specialised “7-Point Payroll Recruitment System” that proactively aims to attract the top 15% of talent available. Nick and his team have found that by identifying payroll talent motivated by the intrinsic value of the job rather than ‘just by pay’ that they can substantially de-risk the recruitment process by providing clients with significantly more ROI thanks to improved ‘Quality of Hire’ and retention metrics.
Nick has developed JGA to become world-class payroll recruitment consultancy. They have access to phenomenal networks of specialist payroll professionals which they successfully access for client engagements every day. A leading payroll recruitment authority, Nick and his team specialise in placing permanent and temporary payroll vacancies ranging from EMEA & International Payroll Directors, Payroll Managers and Payroll Executives through to Payroll Administrators, Technical Payroll & HR Implementation Consultants and Project Managers.
The JGA Payroll Recruitment team has payroll subject matter expertise totalling over 100 years. This experience, coupled with the JGA system and passive search expertise have allowed JGA to offer a consultative payroll recruitment service focused on quality, not quantity; providing a value-added client and candidate experience that ultimately delivers ‘better talent faster’.
JGA Recruitment continue to utilise cutting edge digital technologies and big data analytics to improve candidate attraction strategies to attract the best payroll talent for their clients.
I have known Nick for 14 years. I have always been impressed by his professional manner and dedication not only to his work at James Gray Associates (JGA) but also to his family. He has worked hard to build JGA Recruitment into a very successful business. But what has impressed me the most about Nick, is that he has real integrity, a rare virtue in the world of recruitment. – (Ms) L.P
Abu Choudhury
Sales Director
Abu Choudhury
Abu is a sales director at JGA
Abu is the fashionista of the office
Many people do not know that Abu has a BTEC in perfoming arts and sees himself as a “bit of a singer”
- If you could be any animal what would you be? Mudskipper
- If you could have a special power what would it be? Invisibility
- Part of the world you would most like to visit? South America
- Most daring thing on your bucket list? Sky dive
- Best Bucket list thing already achieved?
- Pet hates? Bad punctuation
- Fav thing to do? …
- Greatest achievement? A bit wet but bringing a child in to the world
- Why people like you? I am a genuinely nice guy and very humble J
- How a friend or colleague would describe you? Reliable and competitive
- How your family would describe you? Supportive
Steve Yardley
Associate Director
Steve Yardley
Director at JGA Recruitment and specialise in Senior HR, Payroll and Reward Recruitment.
I love to work with clients on complex roles and truly enjoy talking to the best in the business.
Personally I love to travel to obscure places and subsequently had a few close calls.
I was once chased on foot by a very angry Hippo while on Safari in Zambia, a close call.
I have mainly worked in recruitment however whilst backpacking around Australia I once held the job of ‘Banana Humper’.
I like to think I am a good talker, others may say different.
I would simply like to say that Steve puts the interests of his candidates first and will always try his best for them. On top of this he is both efficient and professional in his dealings – (Ms) H.R
Paul Dargavel
Principle Consultant
Paul Dargavel
- With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, I have become known as both the dinosaur and encyclopaedia of Payroll Recruitment.
- I can remember every candidate I have ever worked with – but this can be both a blessing and a problem!
- Once voted into the Payroll Top 50 of Most Influential people in the payroll industry.
- I recently started parkrun and have got my times down from 30 minutes to sub 25 minutes!
- I love Cider and regularly like to sneak in a secret pint on a Friday J
- If you could be any cartoon animal what would you be? Road Runner
- If you could have a special power what would it be? Precognition
- Part of the world you would most like to visit? Would love to go back to Perth W.A.
- Most daring thing on your bucket list? To do a marathon
- Best Bucket list thing already achieved? Surf boarding off Scarborough Beach W.A
- Pet hates? Abu Choudhury
- Fav thing to do? Spending time with the family
- Greatest achievement? Putting up with Abu Choudhury for 5 years
- Why people like you? I get the beers on Friday. And buy office doughnuts occasionally
Paul has consistently impressed me for many years with his innovative, creative and honest approach to specialist payroll recruitment.
The prime differential which Paul possesses is that he listens to our precise requirements, proactively asking the right questions so that he fully understands what is expected by us from potential candidates. He delivers a consistently high level of service time after time.
Having used several other suppliers, I am delighted to recommend Paul as being a credit to the industry of specialist payroll recruitment. (Mr) A.D
Matthew Pyne
Senior Consultant
Matthew Pine
At JGA Recruitment I am a Senior Recruitment Consultant. I am relatively new to the sectors of payroll & HR but have approximately 9 years experience in technical recruitment (enginering / defence) at my previous employer. I am really enjoying my here and am continually learning new skills and information on a daily basis.
Outside of he office I try to keep myself entertained by writing charity quizzes and listening to a wide range of music. I haven’t always worked in recruitment and previously have been a Club 18-30 holiday rep in Spain. That was a great experience which I think I could only top by going cage diving with Great White sharks off the coast of South Africa. Sharks are my favourite animal but ask my friends and they will tell you that I more closely resemble a snake!!
I have a small, close-knit group of friends who have known eachother for 20+ years. We do pretty much everything together and it seems to work for us. Newcomers are welcome once a stringent initiation ceremony has taken place and been passed.
I’m a big sport fan and travelled to Germany to watch the England football team play in the World Cup in 2006. I would relish the opportunity to see England play in the Ashes in Australia… maybe one day. I am quite a tolerant person and it takes a lot to annoy me but, like most redheads, I have my melting point. Bad manners, dad dancing and R&B music feature high on my lenghty list of dislikes.
Chris Hall
Marketing & HR Recruitment
Chris Hall
Recruitment Consultant and Social Media Co-ordinator at JGA Recruitment, specialising in Marketing, HR and Payroll positions. It’s a great balance of talking to people and solving problems for a living whilst being a bit creative!
Previously I have worked developing solar projects, sales consulting, project management, marketing and running a pub Considerably better jobs than my first job, washing dishes at a ‘Faulty Towers-esqe’ hotel.
If it’s raining I love films and music. When its sunny I love to ski, cycle and travel. With a lot of South East Asia and Europe ticked off and cycling France and Spain this summer, Scandanavia is next. Then South America. And India. And Japan….
Chris has a pro-active attitude and creative approach to his projects. Chris builds strong professional relationships through his excellent interpersonal skills (Mr) J.L
And
I would like to say “Thank You ” Tom & Chris, these guys are professionals, I applied for one of their roles and from the beginning till the last stage of my interview they were very helpful – they had the perfect knowledge of the role itself and also they provided the details of the client with very useful tips for my interview. I would highly recommend them!
Tom Croughton
Recruitment Consultant
Tom Croughton
I’m Tom, a Consultant at James Gray Associates.
Previously, I’ve worked in management/sales positions in the health industry after turning down a place at the Saracens academy due to injury. Previous to that I cleaned the cars of residents on my street for a fiver.
Recently, I have been recruiting for mid-senior level Payroll, HR, Reward and Marketing positions across the UK and Europe at JGA and have loved every minute of it. I have successfully placed hard to fill roles within FSTE 100/250 & Fortune 500 organisations and hope to continue in the future.
In my spare time, you’ll find me in the gym, watching the mighty Saracens win everything or spending time with my family.
Candidate or client, please feel free to give me a call on 01727 800377 for a chat!
- If you could be any animal what would you be? Gorilla
- If you could have a special power what would it be? Invisibility… Imagine it!
- Part of the world you would most like to visit? Australia
- Most daring thing on your bucket list?
- Best Bucket list thing already achieved? I ate a £2 coin when I was a baby
- Pet hates? PEOPLE EATING WITH THEIR MOUTHS FULL
- Fav thing to do? Eat…
- Greatest achievement? Accepted into the Saracens academy
- Why people like you? “my award winning smile and boyish charm”
- How a friend or colleague would describe you? Heavy and needy
- How your family would describe you? Irritating and caring
I have asked Tom at James Gray to help me fulfil multiple HR and payroll roles now. His understanding of our business needs and ability to execute a quick turnaround is outstanding – I would highly recommend this company. (Ms) E.H
Dale Austin
Recruitment Consultant
Dale Austin
Having just finished a near 2 year position as an estate agent in the beautiful Hitchin town, I have decided to make the move over to JGA as a Recruitment Consultant specialising in Payroll, HR and Reward positions. I love picking up the phone and having different conversations with different people every day, one person’s story is never the same as the next and being able to add to that story by helping that individual take the next step in their career makes for a truly fulfilling job! I look forward to what I hope will be a satisfying and enjoyable career at JGA and I’m very excited to be part of the team. When I’m not helping someone take the leap into a new role I’m a keen runner and hope to break back into badminton after a successful and enjoyable career during my school years.
Ros Winchester
Office Manager
Ros Winchester
With a background in office management somehow I have gravitated towards recruitment and executive search organisations in a variety of sectors ranging from HR, Payroll, Life Sciences and Business Improvement – some may say I’m a glutton for punishment! I truly enjoy the fast moving and lively environment and the challenge of adding structure and process – it is a busy role but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I live in St Albans with my husband and two sons and in my spare time I enjoy socialising and entertaining and then trying to work it all off in the gym. I’m a petite 5ft nothing but apparently it has never prevented me from keeping the guys in the office in check!
