Director, Sales Compensation

Staples Advantage Canada; Framingham (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO & holidays

Discounts

401(k) match

Wellness programs

Job summary

Staples is seeking a seasoned Head of Variable Compensation to lead the execution team, design and model incentive plans, and ensure timely seller payments in a fast-paced B2B environment.

This role collaborates with Sales Operations, HR and Legal to govern plans, maintains SOX controls, builds dashboards, and leads strategic initiatives such as M&A transitions and GTM changes.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in sales compensation, finance, sales operations, compensation, or related fields.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams.
• 3+ years of experience leading implementation, enhancement, optimization, or administration of an incentive compensation management (ICM) platform.
• Experience supporting sales compensation programs involving complex organizational transformations, M&A integrations, or significant go-to-market changes.
• Experience managing large-scale compensation budgets, accruals, and payout processes.
• Advanced Excel proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Lead the variable compensation execution team, ensuring timely and accurate payments.
• Design, model, and execute variable compensation plans that drive sales behaviors and align with business objectives.
• Lead monthly and quarterly close processes: accruals, data validation, payout files, and payments.
• Administer and configure the ICM tech stack (Anaplan, Xactly, Varicent): roadmap, configuration, data integrity, user adoption.
• Apply and enforce SOX-compliant controls and audit procedures for all comp data flows; remediate exceptions within 30 days.
• Partner with Sales Ops, HR, and Legal to draft plan documents, governance charters, and dispute-resolution processes.
• Develop and deliver dashboards and reporting for seller attainment and compensation performance.
• Lead sales-comp workstreams for strategic projects (M&A, new GTM models) delivering on-time, on-budget outcomes.
• Evaluate compensation plan effectiveness and recommend enhancements based on performance and market practices.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collab

Executive presence

Change management

Attention to detail

Integrity/confidentiality

Education

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

Master's degree or MBA

Tools

Anaplan

Xactly

Varicent

SQL

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Staples is business to business. You're what binds us together.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead the variable compensation execution team. Ensure timely and accurate payments and serve as a business partner to Sales Leadership and our Sales Operations partners.
• Design, model, and execute variable compensation plans (commissions, SPIFFs, and incentive programs) that drive desired sales behaviors and align with business objectives.
• Lead monthly and quarterly close processes: calculate accruals, validate attainment data, review payout files, and ensure accurate and timely seller payments.
• Administer and configure the incentive compensation management (ICM) tech stack (e.g., Anaplan, Xactly, Varicent): roadmap, configuration, data integrity, and user adoption, achieving >98 % calculation accuracy.
• Apply and enforce established policies, SOX-compliant controls, and audit procedures for all comp-related data flows; remediate exceptions within 30 days.
• Partner with Sales Operations, HR, and Legal to draft plan documents, governance charters, and dispute-resolution processes; ensure 100 % participant acknowledgement each plan year.
• Develop and deliver dashboards and reporting that provide actionable insights into seller attainment, compensation performance, and business outcomes.
• Lead sales-comp workstream for strategic projects (e.g., M&A sales-comp transition, new GTM models) delivering on-time, on-budget outcomes.
• Evaluate compensation plan effectiveness and recommend enhancements based on business performance, market practices, and evolving sales strategies.

What you bring to the table:

• Strategic business acumen
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Executive presence and influencing capability
• People leadership and coaching skills
• Change management expertise
• Effective cross-functional collaboration
• Strong attention to detail and execution focus
• High integrity, confidentiality, and accountability

What's needed- Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, Human Resources, or related field or equivalent work experience.
• 10+ years of experience in sales compensation, finance, sales operations, compensation, or related fields.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams.
• 3+ years of experience leading implementation, enhancement, optimization, or administration of an incentive compensation management (ICM) platform.
• Experience supporting sales compensation programs involving complex organizational transformations, M&A integrations, or significant go-to-market changes.
• Experience managing large-scale compensation budgets, accruals, and payout processes.
• Advanced Excel proficiency.
• Experience with compensation management platforms (Anaplan, Xactly, Varicent, or similar).
• Experience working across Sales, Finance, HR, and Operations.
• Experience presenting business recommendations to senior leadership.

What's needed- Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree or MBA.
• Experience leading compensation system implementations or transformations.
• Experience supporting M&A integrations, sales reorganizations, or go-to-market changes.
• Professional certification such as CCP, CSCP, or equivalent.
• Experience using SQL, Power BI, Tableau, or similar analytics tools.

We Offer:

• Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups
• 22 days of PTO and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays + 1 floating holiday)
• Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more!

The salary range represents the expected compensation for this role at the time of posting. The specific base pay may be influenced by a variety of factors to include the candidate's experience, skill set, education, geography, business considerations, and internal equity. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for bonuses, or other forms of variable compensation.