Lead Sales Incentive Compensation Analyst

About the role

Lead the design, governance, and execution of complex sales incentive compensation programs in partnership with Human Resources, Finance, Sales Leadership, and Operations. Serve as a subject-matter expert and strategic advisor on incentive plan design, execution, automation, and risk, while ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant compensation outcomes across sales organizations.

Responsibilities

• Provide end-to-end ownership of sales incentive compensation programs, including plan design support, operational execution, governance, and ongoing optimization in partnership with Total Rewards.
• Lead the monthly and periodic commission payment lifecycle, ensuring accuracy, auditability, and timely submission to Payroll while proactively managing risks and exceptions. Covers over 200 internal employee wholesalers on a monthly cycle.
• Administer firm revenue sharing agreements with distribution partners, including calculation, reconciliation, and timely payment of millions of dollars in contractual payments, ensuring accuracy and compliance with contractual terms.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex compensation issues, disputes, and interpretation of plan documents, exercising judgment and providing clear, defensible resolutions.
• Drive automation, scalability, and process efficiency by defining technical requirements, partnering with Sales Operations and Sales Reporting, and influencing roadmap priorities.
• Own data integrity and control frameworks supporting incentive compensation, ensuring consistency, quality, and governance of sales and payout data.
• Lead plan revision cycles and policy enhancements, identifying opportunities to improve design effectiveness, operational efficiency, and employee understanding.
• Draft, review, and validate incentive plan documents, ensuring clarity, compliance, and alignment with enterprise compensation philosophy.
• Develop and deliver clear communications and training on compensation plans, mechanics, and policies for sales employees, managers, and leaders.
• Mentor and provide informal leadership to junior analysts, sharing best practices and elevating team capability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or equivalent experience
• Seven years of progressive experience in sales compensation, incentive administration, finance, accounting, or a related analytical role
• Advanced understanding of sales incentive plans, compensation structures, contracts, and sales processes
• Hands-on experience with Anaplan or other commission/incentive compensation systems
• Demonstrated ability to analyze large, complex datasets and synthesize insights for decision-makers
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills applied to ambiguous or high-impact compensation issues
• Prioritizing influence and partnership with senior stakeholders across Total Rewards, HR, Finance, Payroll, Sales Operations, and Sales Leadership
• Exceptional attention to detail, judgment, and accountability in high-stakes financial processes
• Advanced proficiency in Excel; working knowledge of Word and PowerPoint

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with compensation analytics, modeling, or payout forecasting
• Exposure to compensation governance, audit support, or regulatory considerations
• Prior experience acting as a lead analyst or subject-matter expert within a compensation function
• Experience administering third-party revenue sharing or distribution fee agreements, preferably in asset management, insurance, or financial services