Compensation Analyst

Crane 1 Services; Olde West Chester (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Crane 1 Services is seeking a Compensation Analyst to own the design, administration, and analysis of our variable compensation plans for the sales team. West Chester, OH-based role with in-office work five days a week.

You will partner with Sales and Finance to model payouts, administer plan calculations each pay cycle, and build dashboards to monitor plan effectiveness while ensuring compliance and timely communication. This role also supports reporting, forecasting, and process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Economics, HR, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 3–5 years of experience in compensation, sales operations, or financial analysis, with at least 2 years focused on sales incentive or commission plans.
• Working knowledge of accounting and ERP systems such as Sage, and of incentive compensation systems and tools.
• Working knowledge of benefits compensation (health, welfare, retirement, total rewards).
• Advanced Excel skills (complex formulas, lookups, pivot tables, scenario modeling).
• High proficiency using AI analytical tools to analyze data, build models, and automate reporting.
• Ability to explain complex plan mechanics in plain language to sellers and managers.

Responsibilities

• Plan Design & Strategy: adjust sales incentive plans to support revenue, margin and growth goals; model payouts and cost of sales; set quota and territory rules; benchmark against market data.
• Plan Administration & Payout: own end-to-end calculation, reconcile data, handle plan exceptions, maintain governance, answer questions from sales.
• Analytics & Reporting: build dashboards on attainment and payout trends; run post-period reviews; support accruals and forecasting; use AI tools for modeling and reporting.
• Compliance, Controls & Communication: ensure compliance with wage laws; write plan summaries and training materials; pursue process improvements and automation.
• General Compensation Support: assist with benchmarking, job evaluations, salary structure maintenance, and annual merit cycle.

Skills

Advanced Excel

AI analytics

Data interpretation

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Business/Economics/HR or related field

Tools

Sage ERP

Incentive compensation tools

SQL

Power BI

Job description

Crane 1 is looking for a Compensation Analyst who will own the design, administration, and analysis of our variable compensation plans. You will be the go-to expert on how our salespeople get paid.

Position Details

• In-office 5 days a week West Chester, OH
• Reports to: Chief Financial Officer or designate
• Salary: $90k-$100k / yr + bonus eligibility (bonus amount to be determined).

Key Responsibilities

Plan Design & Strategy

• Partner with Sales leadership and Finance on the annual and quarterly adjustments to the design of sales incentive plans, including commissions, bonuses, SPIFFs, and accelerators, so plans support revenue, margin, and service-agreement growth goals.
• Model proposed plan changes: projected payouts, cost of sales, pay mix, leverage, and how earnings would be distributed across the sales team.
• Recommend quota-setting approaches and territory or account crediting rules in partnership with Sales Operations.
• Benchmark sales compensation against market data (target total cash, pay mix, upside) for sales roles in industrial services and related industries.

Plan Administration & Payout

• Own the end-to-end commission and incentive calculation process each pay cycle, from data collection and validation through calculation, review, approval, and handoff to Payroll.
• Reconcile sales and bookings data from the ERP/CRM against Finance records so payouts are accurate.
• Process plan exceptions, splits, clawbacks, draws, and new-hire, transfer, and termination proration according to plan documents and policy.
• Maintain plan documents, participant acknowledgments, and the plan governance calendar.
• Serve as the main point of contact for questions and disputes from sales employees and managers, and resolve them quickly and clearly.

Analytics & Reporting

• Build and maintain dashboards and reports on attainment, payout trends, plan effectiveness, cost of sales, and pay-for-performance alignment.
• Run post-period plan effectiveness reviews and share findings and recommendations with HR and Sales leadership.
• Support accruals and forecasting of incentive expense with Finance.
• Use AI-enabled analytical tools to speed up modeling, data validation, reconciliation, and reporting, with appropriate review and protection of confidential pay data.

Compliance, Controls & Communication

• Keep incentive processes compliant with federal and state wage laws (e.g., commission agreement and final-pay requirements) and with internal audit controls.
• Write clear plan summaries, FAQs, and training materials, and help roll out new plans to the field.
• Look for and carry out process improvements and automation, including evaluating or optimizing an incentive compensation management (ICM) platform.

General Compensation Support (as Needed)

• Support base pay and benefits compensation benchmarking, job evaluations, salary structure maintenance, and the annual merit cycle for sales and non-sales roles.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Economics, HR, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3-5 years of experience in compensation, sales operations, or financial analysis, with at least 2 years focused on sales incentive or commission plans.
• Working knowledge of accounting and ERP systems such as Sage, and of incentive compensation systems and tools.
• Working knowledge of benefits compensation (e.g., health and welfare plans, retirement benefits, and total rewards).
• Advanced Excel skills (complex formulas, lookups, pivot tables, scenario modeling).
• High proficiency using AI analytical tools to analyze data, build models, and automate reporting.
• Ability to explain complex plan mechanics in plain language to sellers and managers.

Preferred

• Experience with ICM tools (e.g., Xactly, CaptivateIQ, Spiff, Varicent, Performio) and CRM systems (e.g., SAGE CRM, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics).
• Experience with SQL, Power BI, or similar reporting tools.
• Background in industrial services, field services, equipment, or other B2B, multi-branch environments.

Key Competencies

• Analytical and financial acumen
• Accuracy and ownership of deadlines
• Business partnership and influence
• Clear, customer-focused communication
• Continuous improvement mindset

What Success Looks Like (First 12 Months)

• Incentive payouts are accurate and on time every cycle, with fewer disputes and manual adjustments.
• Sales leaders have a clear, regular view of attainment and plan cost.
• The next fiscal year’s sales comp plans are designed, modeled, approved, and communicated before the plan year starts.
• At least one key calculation or reporting process has been documented and automated.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

Crane 1 Services is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. We believe in fostering a supportive environment where every employee is valued and given the opportunity to succeed.