Compensation Consultant - Sales Performance & Operations

OhioX; Columbus (OH); Hybrid; USD 97,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Nationwide is seeking a Sales Compensation Consultant to design, administer, and optimize incentive plans across multiple product lines. You will partner with sales, finance, HR, and leaders to translate strategy into actionable plans and ensure accurate and timely incentive payments.

You will build Excel models and ad hoc reports, analyze data, and communicate complex concepts clearly to drive informed decisions. The role blends consulting, analytics, and governance in a hybrid Columbus setting.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience designing, administering, or analyzing sales compensation, incentive plans, or related programs.
• Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills for complex calculations, models, forecasts and reports.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accurate payments across plans.

Responsibilities

• Provide sales performance compensation services for multiple sales product lines.
• Prepare and optimize sales incentive plans in collaboration with business leaders.
• Ensure incentive payments and commissions are processed accurately and on time.
• Oversee sales systems and provide training on sales software when needed.
• Collaborate with partners on licensing, underwriting, accounting, and administration.

Skills

Sales compensation

Excel modeling

Data analytics

Attention to detail

Cross-functional communication

Education

Undergraduate degree in business/marketing/insurance

Job description

As a team member in Finance at Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales, the opportunities are endless! Let Nationwide help create your career journey! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

Make an impact Join Nationwide Financial’s Sales Compensation team and help ensure sales incentives support business strategy while associates are paid accurately and consistently. This role blends sales compensation consulting, incentive plan design, compensation administration, Excel modeling, data analytics, and operational controls.

What you’ll do

• Partner with NF sales, distribution, Finance, HR, Corporate Compensation, and business leaders to understand strategy and translate it into effective sales incentive plans.
• Design, document, update, and implement commission and incentive plans across multiple sales product lines, including goals, measures, payout opportunities, timing, rules, and exceptions.
• Calculate, validate, audit, and resolve commission and incentive payments so associates are paid accurately and on time.
• Build and review Excel models, forecasts, scenarios, and ad hoc reports; extract and analyze data; investigate trends and anomalies; and recommend improvements.
• Monitor sales compensation systems and processes; help resolve issues involving licensing, underwriting, accounting, production crediting, and administration; and may facilitate sales software training.
• Explain complex compensation concepts and recommendations clearly to sales leaders and partners, and confidently influence decisions when business goals must be balanced with affordability, controls, and compliance.
• Own work end to end: document decisions, coordinate stakeholders, test changes, and follow through to implementation.

What you’ll bring

• Hands-on experience designing, administering, or analyzing sales compensation, incentive compensation, commissions, or related financial services programs; typically 8+ years in sales performance and operations, compensation, financial services, or business process management.
• Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills, including experience building or validating complex calculations, models, forecasts, and reports.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a strong commitment to payment accuracy across plans with varied rules, dates, and exceptions.
• Ability to learn and explain how products, distribution channels, sales goals, budgets, and payment cycles connect.
• Strong consulting, communication, judgment, problem-solving, and organization skills; comfortable challenging assumptions and respectfully pushing back with senior leaders.

Why this opportunity

• Work across the full sales compensation lifecycle—from strategy and design through administration, audit, and continuous improvement.
• Gain visibility with sales leadership, HR, Corporate Compensation, Finance, and expense partners.
• Join a collaborative team that values curiosity, ownership, practical problem-solving, and doing the right thing for associates.
• Build a differentiated portfolio at the intersection of compensation design, analytics, operations, and financial services distribution.

Work model This is a hybrid opportunity based in Columbus, Ohio, with team collaboration in the office typically Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

#LI-remote

#LI-SM1

Job Description Summary

Do you love discovering operational improvement opportunities? Are you interested in finding new and innovative solutions to drive sales? If you have a natural curiosity, can be both analytical and strategic and want to accelerate your personal and professional growth, we want to know more about you!

As a Sales and Performance Consultant, you will provide sales compensation services to business leaders. You will have a chance to create and develop our sales incentive plans. You'll need an eye for detail as you will be responsible to review accuracy sales incentive and commission payments. You'll have the opportunity to build relationships across the organization as you collaborate with leaders and business partners from different areas.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provides sales performance compensation services for multiple sales product lines.

• Prepares our sales incentive plans while collaborating with business leaders to provide solutions. Discovers and shares opportunities to enhance plans.

• Ensures sales incentive payments and commissions are processed accurately and timely.

• Ensures sales systems are running accurately with some oversight. May facilitate sales software training.

• Consults with business partners regarding sales processes.

• Partners with their leader to insure incentive payments are aligned with plan design. Makes recommendations for improving sales effectiveness.

• Conducts sales data extraction from various sources. Develops, produces, analyzes, and maintains ad hoc reports. Consults with leadership regarding report trends and provides recommendations.

• Collaborates with various business areas in resolving issues with licensing, underwriting, accounting, production crediting, incentive payments and/or administration.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to Sales Performance & Operations leader.

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Preferred undergraduate degree in business, marketing, insurance or related field.

Experience: Typically, eight years of confirmed experience in sales performance and operations environment. Related fields include may include, sales incentive administration, financial services, business process management.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Proven knowledge on commission and/or sales incentive payment processes. Understands commission/sales incentive plan designs. Confirmed knowledge of sales standards, methodologies, and frameworks. Strong verbal and written communication skills for interaction with sales leadership. Strong analytical ability to research and evaluate sophisticated payment process issues and financial information. Decision-making skills for problem identification and selection of alternatives. Strong organization and planning skills to set priorities and to plan work. Ability to formulate business questions/problems into analytical questions, and conduct analyses. Ability to operate multiple database and business software on pc.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner.

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions:

Overtime Eligibility: Exempt (Not eligible)

Working Conditions: Normal office conditions. Occasional travel.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.

Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a full-time schedule.The national salary range for Consultant, Sales Performance and Operations : $97,000.00-$180,000.00The expected starting salary range for Consultant, Sales Performance and Operations : $97,000.00 - $145,000.00