Analytics-Driven Sales Compensation Lead

Guardian Life Insurance Company; Town of Boston (NY); Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 113,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life Insurance Company in the United States is seeking a Senior Sales Compensation Analyst to lead complex analysis, administration, design, and continuous improvement of incentive compensation programs for the Group Sales Distribution organization.

You will serve as a strategic partner to senior leaders, independently leading high-impact compensation initiatives and leveraging analytics, automation, and AI-enabled tools to strengthen decision-making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 6+ years of progressive professional experience in sales compensation, compensation, finance, sales operations, business analytics, payroll, or a related field.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data, identify trends and anomalies, evaluate business impact, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office applications, including the ability to build and validate complex models and reporting tools.
• Demonstrated experience working with large and complex datasets, reconciling information across multiple sources, and producing accurate executive-level reporting.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex compensation concepts, influence decisions, and tailor communications for senior leadership and varied stakeholder audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end administration of complex sales incentive compensation programs, including payment calculations, validation, exception management, payroll coordination, and timely delivery of accurate reporting.
• Own advanced analysis and modeling across multiple data sources to assess plan performance, identify risks and opportunities, resolve discrepancies, and provide actionable insights that support business decisions.
• Partner with senior leadership to evaluate, model, design, and implement annual incentive compensation plans and strategic enhancements aligned with business objectives, sales strategy, and financial parameters.
• Develop and deliver executive-ready presentations, plan documents, analytics, and performance reporting that clearly communicate compensation program design, results, risks, and recommended actions.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and lead compensation workstreams supporting new products, distribution channels, organizational changes, system enhancements, and other strategic business initiatives.
• Build trusted relationships with sales leaders and key business partners across Finance, Payroll, HR, Legal, Technology, and Sales Operations to anticipate needs, provide guidance, and influence decisions through data-driven recommendations.
• Establish and maintain strong governance, documentation, and quality controls; proactively assess risks and support audit, compliance, and remediation activities.
• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex compensation issues, balancing accuracy, plan intent, business impact, and stakeholder needs.
• Provide coaching, technical guidance, and peer review to analysts and cross-functional partners; share best practices and help strengthen team capabilities.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts by identifying and implementing opportunities to strengthen automation, AI-enabled capabilities, advanced analytics, reporting, scalability, controls, and the stakeholder experience.

Skills

Advanced analytical skills

Executive communication

Independent work

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Excel

SQL

Access

Visual Basic

Data visualization tools

Job description

Guardian Life Insurance Company in the United States is seeking a Senior Sales Compensation Analyst to lead complex analysis, administration, design, and continuous improvement of incentive compensation programs for the Group Sales Distribution organization.

You will serve as a strategic partner to senior leaders, independently leading high-impact compensation initiatives and leveraging analytics, automation, and AI-enabled tools to strengthen decision-making.