Looks like the default toolbar for jqGrid is always at the bottom. Buttons like Next/Prev page and the dropdown to select the number of rows per page will always show at the
To have the toolbar at the top of the grid with the same buttons and events as the bottom toolbar you must activate the toppager:true
to the definition of the grid and add the next lines after the definition
/** Duplicating the Nav Toolbar in top **/
var toolbarClone = $('#pager_left').clone(true);
// Assuming that your grid's ID is myGrid
$('#myGrid_toppager_left').prepend(toolbarClone);
Those lines will do the trick :)