Senior Variable Pay Administration Specialist

Creative AI Network; Abu Dhabi; Remote; AED 230,000 - 420,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% remote work in UAE

Competitive compensation

Professional development in total comp

Job summary

Creative AI Network is seeking a Senior Variable Pay Administration Specialist for a fully remote role based in the United Arab Emirates. You will oversee the administration, calculation, validation, and reporting of variable compensation programs, including bonuses, commissions, and performance-based rewards.

The role requires strong compensation expertise, financial analysis, data management, and governance to ensure accurate and timely incentive payments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, finance, accounting, business administration, economics, or related discipline.
• Professional certification in compensation or payroll is an advantage.
• Significant experience in variable compensation, incentive administration, payroll operations, commissions, or compensation and benefits.
• Strong understanding of bonus structures, sales commissions models, and variable remuneration principles.
• Experience calculating and validating incentive payments using complex plan rules and performance data.

Responsibilities

• Administer variable compensation programs, including annual bonuses, sales commissions, performance incentives, and recognition awards.
• Coordinate variable pay cycles from data collection through calculation, reconciliation, approval, and payment preparation.
• Review incentive plans, eligibility criteria, performance measures, payout thresholds, and calculation methodologies.
• Validate employee performance data against approved incentive plan rules.
• Calculate variable pay entitlements using formulas, targets, accelerators, caps, and payout conditions.
• Reconcile incentive calculations with payroll, finance reports, and compensation data.
• Investigate discrepancies, calculation errors, and unusual payout patterns.
• Maintain records of plan participation, eligibility, target assignments, and payment histories.
• Coordinate with HR, payroll, finance, and business leaders to resolve issues.
• Support implementation of new or revised incentive plans.
• Monitor plan performance and identify improvements in payout accuracy and efficiency.
• Prepare reports on incentive accruals, payout forecasts, and trends.
• Analyze variable pay expenditure against budgets and report variances.
• Review transfers, promotions, terminations for eligibility impact.
• Support administration of commission adjustments, reversals, clawbacks, and exceptional payments.
• Maintain documentation of calculation procedures and controls.
• Assist audits with compensation records and reconciliations.
• Protect confidentiality of employee data.

Skills

Strong numerical analysis

Stakeholder management

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Data privacy and data security

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR, finance, accounting, business administration, economics, or related discipline

Tools

Microsoft Excel

HRIS

Payroll platforms

Incentive compensation software

ERP systems

Job description

Job Title: Senior Variable Pay Administration Specialist

Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: 100% Remote — Work From Home

Level: Senior

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Variable Pay Administration Specialist to oversee the administration, calculation, validation, and reporting of variable compensation programs. The role focuses on ensuring accurate and timely processing of incentive payments, bonuses, commissions, performance awards, and other variable remuneration arrangements. The successful candidate will combine strong compensation expertise, financial analysis, data management, and process governance to support transparent and reliable variable pay operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer variable compensation programs, including annual bonuses, sales commissions, performance incentives, and recognition awards.


• Coordinate variable pay cycles from data collection and validation through calculation, reconciliation, approval, and payment preparation.


• Review incentive plans, eligibility criteria, performance measures, payout thresholds, and calculation methodologies.


• Validate employee performance and achievement data against approved incentive plan rules.


• Calculate variable pay entitlements using established formulas, targets, accelerators, caps, and payout conditions.


• Reconcile incentive calculations against payroll records, finance reports, and approved compensation data.


• Investigate discrepancies, calculation errors, missing information, and unusual payout patterns.


• Maintain accurate records of incentive plan participation, employee eligibility, target assignments, and payment histories.


• Coordinate with HR, payroll, finance, sales operations, and business leaders to resolve variable pay administration issues.


• Support the implementation and administration of new or revised incentive compensation plans.


• Monitor plan performance and identify opportunities to improve payout accuracy, efficiency, and transparency.


• Prepare periodic reports covering incentive accruals, payout forecasts, plan costs, and compensation trends.


• Analyze variable pay expenditure against approved budgets and identify significant variances.


• Review employee transfers, promotions, terminations, leave events, and role changes for their impact on incentive eligibility and payouts.


• Support the administration of commission adjustments, reversals, clawbacks, and exceptional payments in accordance with approved policies.


• Maintain documentation of calculation procedures, approval workflows, control activities, and plan-specific requirements.


• Perform quality checks and control reviews to ensure consistency and accuracy across variable pay transactions.


• Support internal and external audits by preparing relevant compensation records, reconciliations, and supporting documentation.


• Protect confidential employee and compensation information in accordance with data privacy and access-control requirements.


• Recommend improvements to variable pay systems, reporting tools, workflows, and administrative controls.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, or a related discipline.


• Professional certification in compensation and benefits, payroll, finance, or human resources is an advantage.


• Significant experience in variable compensation, incentive administration, payroll operations, commissions, or compensation and benefits.


• Strong understanding of bonus structures, sales commission models, performance incentives, and variable remuneration principles.


• Demonstrated experience calculating and validating incentive payments using complex plan rules and performance data.


• Knowledge of compensation governance, payroll controls, approval processes, and financial reconciliation procedures.


• Strong numerical, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.


• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including formulas, pivot tables, lookup functions, and data analysis.


• Experience with HR information systems, payroll platforms, incentive compensation software, or enterprise resource planning systems.


• Ability to interpret compensation policies, incentive agreements, plan documentation, and calculation methodologies.


• Experience preparing compensation reports, payout forecasts, accrual analyses, and management dashboards.


• Understanding of payroll coordination and the treatment of variable remuneration under applicable employment and tax requirements.


• Excellent attention to detail and ability to identify inconsistencies in large datasets.


• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.


• Ability to manage multiple incentive cycles and deadlines while maintaining accuracy and confidentiality.


• High standards of professional integrity, documentation, and data security.

What We Offer

• A 100% remote working arrangement based in the United Arab Emirates.


• Competitive compensation aligned with experience and professional expertise.


• Opportunities to contribute to strategic incentive and total rewards programs.


• Collaboration with HR, finance, payroll, and business operations teams.


• Professional development opportunities in compensation management and variable pay administration.