Director, Sales Compensation

Salesforce; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 164,000 - 285,300; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce seeks a Director for GIC Operations Excellence to build and lead a new high-impact team driving modernization of incentive compensation operations. You will shape strategy, spark AI-enabled improvements, and partner across Sales, Finance, HR, and Technology to deliver world-class support for 39,000 sellers.

The role blends operational leadership, data analytics, and process engineering to reduce manual effort and accelerate decision-making, while building scalable infrastructure and a

Qualifications

• 10+ years of incentive compensation operations, strategy, or technology.
• 3+ years of people management or team leadership.
• Deep understanding of incentive compensation operations, systems, and/or sales compensation design.
• Proven track record of process improvements that reduced manual effort or increased accuracy.
• Strong experience with data and analytics to drive insights; familiarity with BI tools.
• Hands-on interest in AI and automation technologies for sales compensation or finance operations.
• Excellent project management and ability to handle cross-functional programs.
• Strong executive communication skills and ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Salesforce product experience (Spiff/ICM, Tableau, CRM) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own strategic vision and hands-on execution of operational transformation for the GIC Ops Excellence team.
• Diagnose friction in GIC workflows and build a prioritized improvement roadmap.
• Partner with GIC functions and cross-functional teams to align priorities and resources.
• Move from ideas to pilots, programs, and durable operating infrastructure.

Skills

Incentive compensation operations

People management

Operations strategy

Process transformation

Process mapping

Data & analytics

AI & automation

Project management

Executive communication

Tools

Tableau

Spiff/ICM

Salesforce CRM

Job description

Job Overview

The Director, GIC Operations Excellence is a senior operational leader responsible for building and leading a new team within Salesforce's Global Incentive Compensation (GIC) organization, purpose-built to drive innovation across incentive compensation operations and processes. This role sits at the intersection of operational strategy, data analytics, AI, and process engineering — and is charged with fundamentally modernizing how GIC Operations works, in order to provide world-class incentive compensation support to a global team of 39,000 sellers.

Success in This Role Includes

• Leading and growing a high-performing Ops Excellence team that becomes a force multiplier for the broader GIC organization.
• Delivering measurable reductions in manual effort, processing time, and error rates across GIC's core operational workflows.
• Establishing a culture of continuous improvement and innovation that is embedded into how GIC operates day-to-day.
• Becoming a trusted, influential partner to GIC leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders (Sales, Sales Ops, Technology, HR, Finance) on operational strategy.
• Championing data and AI as tools that democratize insights and accelerate execution across the GIC team.

Responsibilities

• Own both strategic vision and hands‑on execution of operational transformation, including standing up and leading the new GIC Ops Excellence team.
• Diagnose operational friction across GIC's workflows and build a prioritized roadmap of improvement initiatives.
• Partner deeply with GIC functions (Comp Ops, Plan Ops, Analytics, Design/Policy) and with cross‑functional teams to align on priorities, resources, and outcomes.
• Pivot from ideas to pilots, pilots to programs, and programs to durable operating infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

Process Mapping & Optimization

• Lead end‑to‑end process mapping of GIC's core operational workflows, documenting current‑state processes, identifying bottlenecks and redundancies, and designing future‑state solutions.
• Partner with functional leaders across GIC to understand pain points, prioritize improvement opportunities, and drive structured problem‑solving.

Automation & AI Innovation

• Identify and execute opportunities to automate manual, repetitive, or error‑prone processes across the GIC operational lifecycle.
• Champion the use of AI tools — including Agentforce and generative AI — to improve how GIC teams access information, resolve cases, issue plans, and support sellers.
• Partner with GIC's technology and analytics teams to scope, test, and deploy automation and AI solutions.

Data‑Driven Decision Making

• Leverage data to quantify operational inefficiencies, set baselines, and measure the impact of improvement initiatives.
• Build reporting frameworks that give GIC leadership real‑time visibility into operational health, workload, and process performance.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration & Change Management

• Drive alignment across GIC, Sales Operations, Finance, HR, and Technology on process improvement priorities and shared infrastructure investments.
• Lead change management for new tools, processes, and operating models — ensuring adoption is fast, smooth, and well‑supported.
• Represent GIC Ops Excellence in senior leadership forums and cross‑functional planning discussions.

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, recruit, mentor, and develop a new team of operations and transformation professionals.
• Establish a team culture grounded in curiosity, rigor, and execution — where bold ideas are welcomed and follow‑through is expected.

Desired Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in incentive compensation operations, strategy, or technology, with meaningful exposure to process transformation and technology‑enabled change.
• 3+ years of people management or team leadership experience.
• Deep understanding of incentive compensation operations, systems, and/or sales compensation design.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully designing and implementing process improvements that reduced manual effort, improved accuracy, or scaled operational capacity.
• Strong command of process mapping methodologies and a structured approach to problem diagnosis and solution design.
• Experience working with data and analytics tools to drive insights and measure operational performance; familiarity with Tableau or similar BI tools is a plus.
• Hands‑on experience or strong interest in AI and automation technologies and how they apply to sales compensation or finance operations.
• Exceptional project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams across complex, cross‑functional environments.
• Strong executive communication skills — both written and verbal — with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and translate complex operational concepts into clear narratives.
• Salesforce product experience (Spiff/ICM, Tableau, CRM) is a plus but not required.

Compensation

The typical base salary range for this position is $164,000 - $261,500 annually. In select cities within the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan area, the base salary range for this role is $196,800 - $285,300 annually. The range represents base salary only and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Salesforce is an equal‑opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non‑discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. All employees and potential employees will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and all other aspects of employment.