Director, Sales Compensation

salesforce.com, inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 164,000 - 285,300; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce seeks a Director to lead GIC Operations Excellence, building a new team and driving transformational initiatives across incentive compensation operations. The role blends strategy, data analytics, AI, and process engineering to modernize how GIC supports a global seller network.

Responsibilities include setting the charter, defining operating models, and partnering with Sales, Ops, Tech, HR, and Finance to deliver measurable efficiency and accuracy.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in incentive compensation ops/strategy/tech.
• 3+ years of people leadership experience.
• Deep understanding of incentive compensation ops, systems, and design.
• Proven ability to design and implement process improvements.
• Strong process-mapping methodology knowledge.
• Experience with data/analytics to drive insights; Tableau or BI is a plus.
• Hands-on with AI/automation for sales compensation/finance ops.
• Exceptional multi-stream project management.
• Strong executive written and verbal communication; ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Salesforce product experience (Spiff/ICM, Tableau, CRM) is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Own strategic vision and hands-on execution of operational transformation for the new GIC Ops Excellence team.
• Diagnose friction across GIC workflows and build a prioritized improvement roadmap.
• Partner across GIC functions and cross-functional teams to align priorities, resources and outcomes.
• Turn ideas into pilots, pilots into programs, and programs into durable operating infrastructure.
• Lead end-to-end process mapping of GIC workflows and document current/future state.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual, repetitive, or error-prone processes across GIC operations.
• Champion AI tools to improve information access, case resolution, and plan issuance.
• Build reporting frameworks to give leadership real-time visibility into performance.

Skills

Incentive compensation ops

People management

Process mapping

Data analytics

AI automation

Project management

Executive communication

Salesforce product knowledge

Tools

Tableau

Job description

To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.

Job Category: Finance

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

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, and/or technology, with meaningful exposure to process transformation and/or 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 with 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.

Accommodations

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.

Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal‑opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non‑discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. No employee or potential employee 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 current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions. 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, as applicable.