Director, Sales Compensation
Sales & Business Development
Minneapolis, MN, USA
USD 176,975-227,250 / year
Position Summary
The Director of Sales Compensation & Commissions is responsible for the execution of the strategy, design, administration, governance, and continuous improvement of the company's global field compensation programs. This leader partners closely with Sales, Sales Operations, Finance, HR, Legal, and Executive Leadership to develop compensation plans that drive business growth, reward desired sales behaviors, and ensure accurate, timely commission payments.
The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and financial acumen with deep expertise in sales compensation design, incentive administration, quota planning, commission systems, and sales performance management.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage the company's sales compensation strategy, policies, and governance framework.
- Evaluate compensation effectiveness and recommend incentive plan improvements to drive productivity and retention.
- Develop incentive models that support strategic initiatives, product launches, and go-to-market transformations.
- Own end-to-end commission processing and incentive compensation operations.
- Ensure accurate and timely calculation, validation, approval, and payment of commissions.
- Establish controls and audit processes to ensure data integrity and compliance.
- Partner with Payroll and Finance to support monthly, quarterly, and annual commission cycles.
- Resolve escalated commission disputes and payment inquiries.
- Partner with Sales Operations and Finance teams on quota deployment and compensation modeling.
- Analyze sales performance against quotas and incentive goals.
- Assess the financial impact of compensation plan changes and business scenarios.
- Support forecasting and planning activities with compensation-related analytics.
- Ensure alignment between compensation plans, sales processes, and business objectives.
- Own and optimize incentive compensation management (ICM): CaptivateIQ
- Develop dashboards and executive reporting related to bookings attainment, compensation expense, quota achievement, and plan effectiveness.
- Lead commission automation initiatives and process improvements.
- Ensure accurate integration of CRM, payroll and compensation systems.
- Establish and maintain compensation plan documentation, policies, and procedures.
- Partner with Legal, Finance, HR, and Compliance teams to ensure adherence to regulatory and company requirements.
- Manage compensation audits and support financial reporting related to commission expenses.
- Ensure compensation plans are fair, scalable, and compliant across multiple geographies.
- Lead and develop a team responsible for compensation design, commission administration, and analytics.
- Establish performance metrics, career development plans, and operating rhythms for the team.
- Act as the executive subject matter expert for sales compensation across the organization.
- Present recommendations and performance insights to executive leadership.
Sales Compensation Strategy & Design:
Commissions Administration:
Sales Operations Partnership:
Systems, Data & Reporting:
Governance & Compliance:
Leadership & Team Management:
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, Mathematics, or related field.
- 8+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation, sales operations, revenue operations, finance, or commission administration.
- 3+ years of people leadership experience.
- Deep understanding of sales compensation design principles, quota methodologies, and commission calculations.
- Experience administering compensation programs for software, technology businesses. Experience with on premise, private subscription, SaaS and usage-based a big plus.
- Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills.
- Strong experience with Salesforce and compensation management platforms.
- Proven ability to influence senior sales and business leaders.
- Experience supporting global sales organizations.
- Knowledge of ASC 606 and sales commission accounting practices.
- Experience with recurring revenue, SaaS metrics, and customer lifecycle compensation models.
- Project Management
- Attention to Detail
- Strategic Thinking
- Executive Communication
- Financial Acumen
- Analytical Problem Solving
- Process Optimization
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- Change Management
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Success Metrics
- 100% accurate and timely commission payments.
- Achievement of sales productivity and incentive plan objectives.
- Reduced commission disputes and payment escalations.
- Increased automation and operational efficiency.
- Executive confidence in compensation forecasting and reporting.
- Scalable compensation programs that support company growth and evolving go-to-market strategies.
Required:
Preferred:
Key Competencies:
AI Fluency:
All employees are expected to demonstrate AI fluency appropriate to their role and level, including responsible use of AI tools, sound judgment, and adherence to company AI governance and security policy standards.
176975 - 227250 USD a year