Director of Sales Compensation

Bazaarvoice; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mental wellness resources

Paid sabbatical after five years

Recognition-based culture

Flexible work from home policy

Job summary

Bazaarvoice seeks an executive-facing Director of Sales Commissions to lead global incentive strategy, plan design, and analytics. You will align plans with growth targets, partner with HR and Revenue leadership, and own end-to-end execution through Everstage.

This role manages a remote two‑person team (US and London), drives governance, and uses AI tools to optimize workflows, with quarterly reviews to the CRO and CFO.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation or incentive management.
• Expertise designing and administering incentive plans for B2B SaaS and non‑recurring revenue models.
• Strong analytics, data storytelling, and ability to present complex financial models to executives.
• Experience with commission management platforms (Everstage preferred) and Excel-based modeling.

Responsibilities

• Lead global strategy, plan design, execution, and analytics for sales incentive programs.
• Oversee end‑to‑end commission execution and payout accuracy in Everstage.
• Partner with HR, Revenue, and Sales Ops to gather inputs, ingests quotas, territories, and ensure smooth rollout.
• Model scenarios and present recommendations to CRO and CFO; gain executive approval.
• Govern plans with LOA, ramp, exceptions, and mid‑year quota adjustments.

Skills

Sales compensation

Incentive management

People management

AI analytics

Advanced Excel

Executive presentation

Everstage

Tableau

Snowflake

Workday integration

Tools

Everstage

Tableau

Snowflake

Workday

Job description

• We are seeking an executive-facing, player-coach Director, Sales Commissions to lead the global strategy, plan design, execution, and analytics for our sales incentive compensation programs
• Reporting to the VP of Finance Operations, you will serve as the subject matter expert and strategic partner to HR and Revenue leadership
• This role bridges executive-level strategy with hands‑on operational execution
• You will design variable comp plans that align with company growth objectives, evaluate plan efficacy through deep performance analytics, and manage end‑to‑end execution through our commissions system, Everstage
• You will oversee a distributed team of two individual contributors (located in the US and London), driving high performance, continuous process improvement, operational efficiency, and strict payout accuracy while leveraging modern tools like AI to transform day‑to‑day workflows
• Reporting StructureThis role reports directly to the VP of Finance Operations
• Lead the annual sales compensation plan design process across both B2B SaaS (recurring revenue) and non‑recurring revenue business models. Translate company targets into effective incentive structures and comprehensive plan documentation
• Executive Alignment: Model compensation scenarios, present strategic plan recommendations directly to the CRO and CFO, and lead iterative revisions to land final executive approval
• Define and maintain clear governance policies for variable compensation, including leaves of absence (LOA), guarantees, ramps, plan exclusions, exception management, and mid‑year quota adjustments
• Partner closely with HR, Revenue, and Sales Operations to gather business inputs, align on role‑based metrics, ingest quotas and territories, and ensure smooth plan rollout and policy enforcement
• Oversee the end‑to‑end execution and calculation of all variable comp plans within Everstage. Drive flawless payout accuracy, timely execution, and clear communication to maintain organizational trust with payees
• Review, validate, and sign off on monthly and quarterly global commission and bonus payroll workbooks across US and international schedules prior to submission to Payroll
• Audit and optimize operational workflows within Everstage. Partner closely with HR Operations/HRIS on data pipeline syncs (Workday to Everstage) to monitor, audit, and resolve data quality gaps (e.g., transfers, promotions, new hires)
• Maintain a solid understanding of upstream deal structure and configuration within Salesforce CPQ. Resolve complex commissioning questions tied to stair‑step deals, multi‑year acceleration, early renewals, and custom contract terms
• Serve as the primary decision‑maker for first‑level plan exceptions, dispute resolutions, and policy interpretations, formulating firm, data‑backed recommendations prior to escalation
• Executive & Board‑Level Reporting: Build and deliver performance monitoring analytics, quota/plan attainment KPIs, and commission expense insights. Deliver board‑pack inputs and present quarterly performance analytics to the CFO as part of Finance Operations Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)
• Partner with the Enterprise Data team to define business requirements, ensure data accuracy, and maintain reporting models within the company’s data warehouse (Snowflake) and reporting platforms (Tableau)
• Partner with FP&A and Accounting to provide accurate, data‑driven inputs for commission expense forecasts, month‑end/quarter‑end commission accruals, and capitalized commissions
• Lead, coach, and mentor a remote team of two analysts (US and London). Set clear performance expectations, foster individual professional growth, and drive a culture of accountability and support
• Drive continuous innovation by actively experimenting with AI tools (e.g., Gemini, Claude) to streamline analytics, automate operational workflows, and empower the broader team to adopt modern technology

Benefits

• Mental wellness matters: All team members get access to the Modern Health platform, which provides resources for personal/professional coaching, therapy, and meditation.
• Improve your community and We believe in investing our time and money to support our communities globally.
• Embrace wellness and reward others: Through our YouEarnedIt platform, achievements, wellness, volunteering, and coaching is celebrated and rewarded, and everyone has a voice.
• Paid sabbaticals: We reward employees for hard work. After five years with Bazaarvoice, you can apply for an eight‑week paid sabbatical.
• Recognition‑based culture: We provide opportunities for annual merit rewards, company bonus schemes, and growth within your role.
• Flexible work from home policies: The working world has changed. So have we.

• 8+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation or incentive management, including 5+ years of direct people management experience
• Strong business acumen to independently evaluate exception requests and provide firm, well‑reasoned recommendations
• Deep expertise designing and administering incentive plans in B2B SaaS / recurring revenue environments, along with experience accounting for non‑recurring revenue models
• An innovative mindset with a desire to experiment with and drive team adoption of emerging technologies and AI platforms (e.g., Claude)
• Player‑Coach Mindset: Willingness to roll up your sleeves to perform detailed analytics and operational execution while guiding strategic direction
• Strong coaching and performance management capabilities suited for a distributed, remote team environment
• Superior verbal and written communication skills with a proven ability to present complex financial models, defend plan designs, and present quarterly business results to executive leadership (CFO, CRO, VPs)
• Experience partnering with HRIS systems and data pipelines (Workday to Everstage integration experience strongly preferred)
• Direct experience with commission management platforms (Everstage preferred, or equivalent SPM systems like CaptivateIQ, Spiff, Xactly). Advanced Excel skills for financial modeling
• Familiarity partnering with data teams on requirements for data warehousing and analytics platforms (Tableau and Snowflake experience is a plus)
• Operational understanding of Salesforce CPQ, deal flows, quote‑to‑cash processes, and complex contract mechanics (e.g., stair‑steps, multi‑year)