HR manager recruitment agency and headhunters
your next HR manager, in good hands.
We combine our data, our sector experts and our AI algorithms to identify the headhunter most relevant to your role, an SME generalist or a group's specialised deputy.
- no setup fees, pay on hire
- guaranteed replacement
they hire their HR managers with muzzo
how do you hire an HR manager through a recruitment agency?
A good HR manager is already indispensable where they work, from recruitment through to payroll. Muzzo gives your role to the headhunters who place the most HR managers: they approach profiles in post with discretion. Fee of 5 to 30%, paid on hire. Leaves within 3 months: we restart the search free.
the figures
an HR manager's salary in figures
source: Apec, private-sector managerial pay in 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 108 (HR manager roles) (opens a new window), 2025 data
source: Apec, private-sector managerial pay in 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 108 (HR manager roles) (opens a new window), 2025 data
source: Apec, private-sector managerial pay in 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 108 (HR manager roles) (opens a new window), 2025 data
how it works
you only pay if you hire
01
you describe the role
Using the form above: the role, your company, the real HR scope. The rest is scoped in your first conversation with the Muzzo team.
02
our data chooses the headhunters
Our AI picks those who have hired the most HR managers, from more than 2,500 selected headhunters.
03
you meet the best profiles
Approached and qualified with discretion by headhunters who are HR experts. You choose who you meet.
04
you hire, then you pay
Not before. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search at no cost.
they hired with muzzo
Muzzo's strength is the diversity of its recruiters: there is always someone listening to our needs.
With Muzzo, I get the reactivity of a marketplace and the quality of a search firm.
let's talk about your role
Antoine and the Muzzo team help you scope your role and choose the right headhunters. Describe your role in the form: we'll call you back to discuss it.
Antoine GigomasCEO and co-founder of Muzzo
one last question?
With Muzzo, you set the fee, between 5 and 30%, and you only pay it on hire: no deposit, no fixed fees. A generalist HR manager for an SME and a specialised deputy HR manager don't take the same search. The fee follows that difficulty, and the Muzzo team helps you set it.
You have a double guarantee. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search at no cost. If we find no replacement within 4 months, we refund 50% of the fees. On average, 94% of Muzzo hires are still in post after 3 months.
our HR headhunters are ready to start
A hire signed in under 26 days. You only pay when you hire.
the reality
a good HR manager isn't found through a job ad
they're already indispensable where they are
An HR manager valued by their teams doesn't read job ads. A headhunter knows them and approaches them directly, with discretion.
generalist or specialised deputy: two profiles
An HR manager doing everything at an SME and a deputy HR manager focused on recruitment at a group aren't hired on the same criteria.
a replacement is prepared with discretion
News of an HR departure unsettles teams quickly. The headhunter protects your name and the candidate's until the interview.
the roles
the HR manager profiles our headhunters go after for you
From an SME generalist to a group's deputy HR manager, each search goes to a headhunter who has already hired that profile.
HR manager for an SME or site
They largely handle recruitment, payroll, training and employee relations for a site or SME alone.
already hired via muzzo
deputy HR manager, recruitment focus
They support an existing HR director and focus on recruitment and personnel administration. Batibig hired this profile with Muzzo.
already hired via muzzo
HR manager / business partner
Halfway between a generalist HR manager and an HRBP, they advise managers while running day-to-day admin.
already hired via muzzo
head of human resources
They carry HR policy for a mid-sized company, often the sole HR contact for leadership.
already hired via muzzo
the method
an HR headhunter, not an agency that does everything
A generalist HR manager and a specialised deputy HR manager aren't hired through the same networks. Here's what changes for this role.
we scope the real remit of the role
Recruitment, payroll, employee relations, training: the brief fixes what the HR manager has to cover alone and what stays shared with a team.
a headhunter who places HR managers
From more than 2,500 selected headhunters, your role goes to those who place the most people in this field, with the discretion required.
sensitive matters checked before the interview
The headhunter checks with references the most sensitive HR matters the candidate has handled: employee relations, recruitment or payroll, depending on your priority.
hiring an HR manager: what you need to know
why use a headhunter to hire an HR manager?
An HR manager carries every day-to-day HR topic for a site or an SME: recruitment, payroll, relations with employee representatives, personnel administration. A good HR manager is rarely job-hunting: they are already indispensable where they work.
An HR headhunter knows how to approach them with discretion, especially when replacing someone still in post. For the HR director, HR business partner or recruitment officer, see our HR page, which covers the whole function.
HR manager for an SME or site: the generalist who does it all
In an SME or at a site, the HR manager handles recruitment, payroll, training and relations with employee representatives largely alone. In a group, they might be a 'deputy' focused on one area (recruitment, employee relations) supporting the HR director.
Batibig, for example, hired a deputy HR manager with Muzzo, focused in particular on recruitment, to support an existing HR leadership team. State this scope in your brief: a generalist and a specialised deputy HR manager aren't hired on the same criteria.
how do you assess an HR manager at interview?
The CV lists HR matters handled. The interview has to check the reality behind it: have they led a dismissal through to completion alone, negotiated with employee representatives, published a gender pay equality index?
The headhunter checks this with references at the previous employer, focusing on the matters most sensitive for your company: employee relations, payroll or recruitment, depending on your priority.
why does confidentiality matter so much in this hire?
Replacing an HR manager still in post calls for discretion: news of an HR departure unsettles teams faster than most other roles. The headhunter approaches profiles without revealing your name until you have approved it.
This discretion also works the other way: a good HR manager elsewhere doesn't want their current employer to learn of their search before a decision is made. The headhunter protects both sides until the interview.
what salary should you offer an HR manager in 2026?
According to Apec's 2025 pay study, HR managers under 35 earn a median of €51k gross a year, against €60k past 45. The regional gap is clear: a median of €60k in the Paris region, against €52k in the rest of France.
Company size matters just as much: a median of €52k in companies with fewer than 250 employees, against €60k above that threshold. These benchmarks help scope an offer before the headhunter approaches anyone.
your questions about hiring an HR manager
Yes. The headhunter approaches profiles without naming your company until you have approved it. This is the rule when replacing an HR manager still in post.
According to Apec, an HR manager under 35 earns a median of €51k gross a year, against €60k past 45 (2025 edition). Experience weighs heavily on this role.
Yes, noticeably. According to Apec, the median is €60k in the Paris region, against €52k in the rest of France (2025 edition).
A great deal. According to Apec, the median is €52k in companies with fewer than 250 employees, against €60k above that threshold (2025 edition), a gap as wide as the one linked to experience.
Yes. For Batibig, for example, we hired a deputy HR manager focused in particular on recruitment, supporting an existing HR leadership team. State this scope in your brief.