Director, Sales Incentive Compensation

Woodmac; Town of Texas (WI); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Wood Mackenzie, a global leader in analytics and data, seeks a Sales Incentive Compensation Director to shape worldwide go-to-market plans and incentive governance.

This role partners with executive leadership to design, model, and optimize compensation programs, balancing growth with financial discipline across Sales, Finance, HR, and Revenue Operations. Hybrid work is required, with 10+ years' experience and strong data-driven strategic capabilities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in sales compensation, revenue operations, or related fields.
• Experience leading global go-to-market compensation programs.
• Strong ability to model and interpret complex data to drive decisions.
• Proven executive presence and cross-functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design, modeling, and governance of global incentive programs.
• Partner with Sales, Finance, HR, and Revenue Ops to align plans with strategy.
• Develop frameworks, quotas, accelerators, and bonus structures with strong governance.
• Provide analytics and reporting to inform annual planning and forecasting.

Skills

Sales compensation

Revenue operations

Executive presentation

Financial modeling

Cross-functional leadership

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Forecasting

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/finance

MBA preferred

Tools

Salesforce

Xactly

Varicent

PowerBI

Advanced Excel modeling

Job description

Wood Mackenzie Values

• Inclusive – we succeed together
• Trusting – we choose to trust each other
• Customer committed – we put customers at the heart of our decisions
• Future Focused – we accelerate change
• Curious – we turn knowledge

Wood Mackenzie is the global leader in analytics, insights and proprietary data across the entire energy and natural resources landscape. For over 50 years our work has guided the decisions of the world’s most influential energy producers, utilities companies, financial institutions and governments. Now, with the world’s energy system more complex and interconnected than ever before, sector‑specific views are no longer enough. That’s why we’ve redefined what’s possible with Intelligence Connected. By fusing our unparalleled proprietary data with the sharpest analytical minds, all supercharged by Synoptic AI, we deliver a clear, interconnected view of the entire value chain. Our trusted team of 2,700 experts across 30 countries breaks siloes and connects industries, markets and regions across the globe. This empowers our customers to identify risk sooner, spot opportunities faster and recalibrate strategy with confidence – whether planning days, weeks, months or decades ahead.

The Sales Incentive Compensation Director serves as the enterprise authority for global go-to-market compensation strategy, plan architecture, and incentive governance. The role is responsible for designing commercially effective compensation programs that drive predictable revenue outcomes, reinforce strategic priorities, and support long-term organizational growth. Operating as a senior strategic partner to executive leadership, the Director leads the development, financial modeling, governance, and optimization of all variable compensation programs across the global commercial organization. The role requires deep expertise in sales compensation strategy, strong executive presence, and the ability to influence complex cross‑functional decisions across Sales, Finance, HR, and Revenue Operations. Success in the role requires balancing commercial competitiveness, financial discipline, operational scalability, and organizational alignment while driving confidence through clear executive‑level communication, analytical rigor, and disciplined governance.

Key Responsibilities

• Compensation Strategy & Plan Architecture
  Lead the end-to-end design, modeling, and strategic evolution of global sales incentive compensation programs across all go-to-market roles
  Develop compensation frameworks aligned to corporate growth objectives, sales strategy, productivity goals, and financial targets
  Serve as the primary internal authority on compensation philosophy, plan design, policy interpretation, and strategic exception management
  Partner with executive leadership to evaluate the commercial and financial impact of compensation structures, accelerators, quotas, overlays, bonus programs, and strategic incentives
  Drive enterprise-wide consistency and scalability across compensation structures while balancing regional and functional requirements
  Reduce dependency on external consultants through development of internal strategic compensation expertise
• Financial Modeling & Commercial Analytics
  Lead advanced financial modeling, scenario planning, and stress testing of compensation programs to ensure affordability, scalability, and return on investment
  Analyze attainment distributions, compensation leverage, productivity trends, and cost-of-sales performance to support executive decision-making
  Provide predictive insights into sales behavior, plan effectiveness, and commercial performance risks
  Develop executive‑level reporting and analytics to support annual planning, forecasting, and ongoing business reviews
  Partner closely with Finance and Revenue Operations to align compensation programs with broader operating plans and revenue expectations
• Governance, Policy & Operational Oversight
  Establish and maintain enterprise compensation governance standards, policies, controls, and approval frameworks
  Ensure compensation plans, documentation, and processes are compliant with applicable laws, internal controls, and company policies across all operating regions
  Act as the final escalation point for complex compensation interpretation matters and non‑standard commercial arrangements
  Oversee compensation administration processes to ensure accuracy, transparency, auditability, and operational discipline
  Drive continuous improvement, automation, and simplification of compensation processes, systems, and workflows
• Executive Partnership & Organizational Leadership
  Serve as a trusted advisor to Sales, HR, Finance, and executive leadership on compensation strategy and organizational performance
  Lead alignment discussions across senior stakeholders to ensure compensation programs support evolving business priorities and strategic initiatives
  Present compensation recommendations, business cases, and financial analysis to executive leadership teams and governance forums
  Build organizational confidence in compensation programs through clear communication, education, and transparent decision-making
• Attract, lead, develop, and mentor high-performing compensation and analytics talent while fostering accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Qualifications & Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Sales Compensation, Revenue Operations, Commercial Finance, Total Rewards, or related disciplines
• Demonstrated ownership of complex global go-to-market compensation programs within high-growth or subscription-based business environments
• Deep expertise in incentive compensation strategy, economic modeling, quota design, and commercial performance management
• Strong executive presence with demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive cross-functional alignment
• Prior evidence of shifting the function from an administrative cost centre to a strategic commercial partner
• Advanced analytical and financial modeling capabilities with the ability to translate complex data into strategic business recommendations
• Strong commercial acumen and sound judgment in balancing growth objectives, financial discipline, and organizational behavior
• Experience leading compensation governance, policy interpretation, and exception management within complex organizations
• Advanced proficiency with sales, compensation, and analytics platforms including Salesforce, Xactly, Varicent, PowerBI, and advanced Excel modeling
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to operate with a high degree of discretion, professionalism, and integrity in handling sensitive business and compensation matters
• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics, or related discipline required; MBA or advanced certifications preferred

Other Expectations

Role model strong integrity and sets an example of WoodMackenzie’s values and behaviors. We are a hybrid working company and the successful applicant will be expected to be physically present in the office at least 2 days per week to foster and contribute to a collaborative environment, but this may be subject to change in the future. While this is expected to be a full-time role, part-time or flexible working arrangements will be considered. Due to the global nature of the team, a degree of flexible working will be required to accommodate different time zones.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. This means we are committed to recruiting the best people regardless of their race, colour, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability or protected veteran status. You can find out more about your rights under the law at www.eeoc.gov

Wood Mackenzie Values Inclusive – we succeed together Trusting – we choose to trust each other Customer committed – we put customers at the heart of our decisions Future Focused – we accelerate change Curious – we turn knowledge

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us! Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it's our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.