Associate Director, Sales Operations (Incentive Compensation Strategy and Operations)

About the Role

The Associate Director, Incentive Compensation Strategy & Operations leads complex, cross-functional initiatives that shape and advance strategic priorities across the Sales Compensation function. This role partners with leaders within the Compensation COE, Business Units, Sales, Finance, HR, Technology, and other functions to evaluate business challenges, develop strategic solutions, and drive enterprise initiatives to successful outcomes. The Associate Director provides thought leadership on initiatives impacting compensation strategy, organizational effectiveness, and business transformation while ensuring alignment with enterprise objectives.

Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic extension of Incentive Compensation leadership, orchestrating planning, prioritization, communications, governance, and cross-functional coordination to drive execution of the COE's highest-priority initiatives.
• Lead and execute strategic, cross-functional initiatives that advance Incentive Compensation priorities, drive organizational effectiveness, and support enterprise business objectives across RevOps, Sales, Finance, HR, Technology, Legal, and Operations.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert on sales compensation strategy, evaluating business challenges, identifying risks and opportunities, and developing recommendations that align compensation philosophy with organizational goals and growth strategies.
• Partner with senior leaders and stakeholders to build alignment and drive execution of complex initiatives, facilitating decision-making, resolving competing priorities, and influencing outcomes across organizational boundaries.
• Lead compensation-related business transformation efforts, including organizational changes, acquisitions, new business models, operating model evolution, and other strategic initiatives impacting compensation programs and governance.
• Assess and translate business strategies into compensation solutions, ensuring effective alignment between enterprise objectives, compensation design principles, implementation requirements, and long-term organizational priorities.
• Provide thought leadership on compensation trends, governance, and best practices, helping shape the future direction of Incentive Compensation programs and supporting adoption of strategic initiatives through stakeholder engagement and change leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of experience within a Sales Incentive Strategy / Operations capacity.
• Proven ability to scale impact: Experience navigating the complexities of a $5B+ organization, including global footprints, legacy systems, and diverse talent pools.
• Systems Thinking: The ability to see the "entire map" and understand how a change in one department ripples across the whole enterprise; experience supporting large-scale business initiatives like Go-To-Market transformations (e.g., ICM/SPM implementations).
• Analytical Rigor: A master of first principles thinking; you don't accept "that's how we've always done it" without data to back it up.
• Financial Literacy: Strong understanding of financial levers, capital allocation, and ROI modeling.
• Influence Without Authority: Ability to persuade teams to change their workflow through empathy and logic, not just mandate.
• Resilience: The ability to stay steady and optimistic during the "trough of disillusionment" inherent in any major change.
• Subject Matter Expertise: Strong understanding of incentive compensation principles, incentive compensation design, governance, system applications, and dashboard creation.

Interview Practices

To maintain a fair and genuine hiring process, we ask that all candidates participate in interviews without the assistance of AI tools or external prompts. Our interview process assesses your individual skills, experiences, and communication style. We value authenticity and want to ensure we’re getting to know you—not a digital assistant. To help maintain this integrity, we ask to remove virtual backgrounds and include in-person interviews in our hiring process. Use of AI-generated responses or third-party support during interviews will be grounds for disqualification from the recruitment process. Applicants may be required to appear onsite at a Wolters Kluwer office as part of the recruitment process.

Pay

Compensation range: $111,200.00 - $198,650.00 USD. This role is eligible for a bonus. The range listed is based on the primary location of the position. Actual base salary offer is influenced by factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and actual hiring location. Your recruiter can share more information about the specific offer for the job location during the hiring process.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, & Vision Plans
• 401(k)
• FSA/HSA
• Commuter Benefits
• Tuition Assistance Plan
• Vacation and Sick Time
• Paid Parental Leave