Manager, Strategy and Planning

PitchBook Data; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health benefits

401k match

Paid sabbatical program after four years

Job summary

PitchBook Data is seeking a Manager of Strategy & Planning to oversee the design and implementation of Sales Incentive Plans for over 500 roles. This strategic position requires strong analytical skills in compensation planning, along with collaboration with C-level executives to ensure the alignment of commercial strategy and financial outcomes.

Candidates should have a Bachelor's degree in Finance or a related field, and at least 5 years of pertinent experience. The role is based in Seattle, Washington, and emphasizes in-office collaboration to drive company culture and innovation.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation or commercial finance.
• 2+ years managing direct reports.
• Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end design, implementation, and governance of Sales Incentive Plans.
• Manage monthly and quarterly commission calculations and payout processes.
• Lead the Bookings forecasting function for the commercial organization.

Skills

Analytical fluency in Excel or Google Sheets

Experience with BI tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI)

Ability to design incentive compensation programs

Experience with quota-setting methodologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Economics, or Mathematics

Tools

SPIFF

Xactly

Salesforce

Job description

At PitchBook, a Morningstar company, we are always looking forward. We continue to innovate, evolve, and invest in ourselves to bring out the best in everyone. We’re deeply collaborative and thrive on the excitement, energy, and fun that reverberates throughout the company.

Our extensive learning programs and mentorship opportunities help us create a culture of curiosity that pushes us to always find new solutions and better ways of doing things. The combination of a rapidly evolving industry and our high ambitions means there’s going to be some ambiguity along the way, but we excel when we challenge ourselves. We’re willing to take risks, fail fast, and do it all over again in the pursuit of excellence.

If you have a good attitude and are willing to roll up your sleeves to get things done, PitchBook is the place for you.

About the Role

Incentive compensation and commercial planning are among the most powerful levers in a growth-stage commercial organization - they shape how sellers prioritize, where the business invests, and how financial performance ultimately materializes. The Manager, Strategy & Planning owns these levers at PitchBook.

This role sits at the intersection of commercial strategy, financial planning, and incentive design. It is responsible for building and governing the compensation programs and financial frameworks that align our go-to-market organization with PitchBook's growth objectives - covering 500+ commissioned roles spanning Sales, Customer Success, and commercial leadership across every segment and geography.

This is not a plan administration role. It is a senior strategic function that requires deep understanding of our GTM motions and the ability to translate that understanding into compensation programs, Bookings forecasts, and financial frameworks that produce the right commercial outcomes. You will manage a team of three to four analysts and serve as the internal authority on how PitchBook incentivizes and plans for its commercial organization, from plan design and quota‑setting through commission execution and governance.

Reporting to the Head of Commercial Operations, you will be a trusted partner and regular point of contact for the CRO and CFO, presenting findings and recommendations directly at the C‑level and serving as the connective tissue between commercial strategy and financial planning. The right candidate doesn't just ask "did we pay correctly?" but "are our plans producing the commercial and financial outcomes we need?", and drives continuous improvement based on the answer.

Primary Job Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end design, implementation, and governance of Sales Incentive Plans (SIPs) for every commissioned role at PitchBook - 500+ roles spanning Sales, Customer Success, and commercial leadership including plan structure, pay mix, accelerators, SPIFFs, and annual plan documentation
• Manage monthly and quarterly commission calculations and payout processes with a high standard for accuracy; serve as the final escalation point for disputes and exceptions across the commercial org
• Own the Commissions forecasting process in close partnership with FP&A, ensuring monthly and quarterly commission expense projections are accurate, timely, and integrated into the company's financial planning cadence; proactively surface and communicate variance drivers to CFO and Finance leadership
• Ensure SIPs are equitable, compliant, and operationally scalable; partner with Legal, Payroll, Finance, and HR to maintain plan integrity and consistent application across the organization
• Lead the annual quota‑setting process in partnership with Commercial leaders and Finance; develop and maintain quota capacity models that account for headcount changes, ramp curves, segment mix, and financial targets
• Build cost models and scenario analyses to quantify the financial impact of plan design changes; support CRO and CFO planning cycles with compensation budget projections and Commissions forecast sensitivity analyses
• Lead a structured compensation governance cadence - facilitating cross‑functional review of plan exceptions, policy evolution, and year‑over‑year plan retrospectives; maintain plan documentation and annual plan communications to sellers and managers
• Shape long‑term incentive strategy by connecting plan design to commercial performance outcomes; conduct ongoing benchmarking against external market data to ensure OTE competitiveness and inform pay mix recommendations
• Lead the Bookings forecasting function for the commercial organization, directing analysts and partnering with FP&A to build and maintain bottoms‑up forecasting models by segment, product line, and seller cohort; own the reconciliation of the operational forecast to the financial plan on a monthly and quarterly basis
• Partner with Commercial Analytics and GTM Systems to ensure the forecast integrates pipeline data, conversion rates, seasonality, and quota capacity - and surface the forecast to CRO and CFO as the primary commercial voice in Finance's planning process
• Direct analysis of forecast‑to‑actual variance at the segment, team, and rep level; work with analysts and Commercial leadership to diagnose deal slippage, pipeline coverage gaps, and pacing trends; and bring clear recommendations for corrective action to the CRO and Finance leadership
• Partner with FP&A to translate Bookings forecast outputs into Revenue and ARR projections, ensuring alignment between the commercial forecast and the company's financial reporting and planning models
• Support quarterly and annual planning cycles by directing scenario‑based Bookings projections tied to headcount, territory, and investment decisions - enabling CRO, CFO, and Commercial leadership to evaluate trade‑offs with financial precision
• Lead the analysis of whether compensation plans and Bookings trajectories are producing the commercial outcomes PitchBook needs; direct internal analytics resources to surface misalignments between incentives, forecasts, and GTM strategy; and present findings and recommendations directly to the CRO and CFO
• Direct commercial segment, territory, and account coverage modeling in partnership with Commercial leadership and Commercial Analytics; ensure quota, incentive design, and Bookings expectations reflect the realities of how each segment goes to market - and flag decisions that require C‑level input
• Lead commercial planning frameworks that connect GTM strategy - segment investment, territory structure, coverage model - to the financial architecture of how we incentivize and forecast the business; own the agenda for how comp design, Bookings planning, and GTM design are built in lockstep
• Contribute to recurring commercial and financial reporting (WBR, QBR) by connecting incentive design, quota attainment, and Bookings forecast data to broader GTM and financial performance trends; present directly to CRO and CFO in these forums
• Partner with GTM Systems, Finance, FP&A, and BI to define the analytical infrastructure; reporting frameworks, data models, dashboards - that enables this role and Commercial leadership to make faster, more confident strategic and financial decisions; direct internal resources to build and maintain these assets
• Manage and develop a team of three to four analysts across Compensation and Commercial Planning; set clear priorities, build analytical capability, and maintain a high standard of accuracy, strategic thinking, and responsiveness
• Serve as a senior cross‑functional partner to Commercial leaders, FP&A, Revenue Operations, and HR - translating business needs into compensation, forecasting, and planning frameworks that align incentives and financial plans with strategy
• Present findings and recommendations directly to the CRO and CFO on a regular cadence; serve as the commercial operations authority in C‑level discussions on incentive design, financial planning, and GTM effectiveness
• Influence and advise VP and C‑level stakeholders on the financial and behavioral implications of compensation and GTM planning decisions; communicate complex analytics and financial narratives in plain, confident language
• Support the vision and values of the company through role modeling and encouraging desired behaviors
• Participate in various company initiatives and projects as requested

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Economics, or Mathematics
• 5+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation, sales operations, commercial finance, FP&A, or GTM strategy
• 2+ years managing direct reports
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or other post‑graduate degree
• Demonstrated experience designing and administering incentive compensation programs for complex, multi‑segment commercial organizations - experience covering 500+ commissioned roles strongly preferred
• Track record of presenting directly to and influencing C‑level stakeholders (CRO, CFO, or equivalent) on compensation strategy, financial planning, and GTM effectiveness
• Experience with Bookings and/or Revenue forecasting in a SaaS or subscription‑based business; ability to direct and validate bottoms‑up forecast models that integrate pipeline, quota, and financial plan data
• Experience with quota‑setting methodologies and capacity planning; ability to build and maintain financial models that support annual and quarterly planning cycles
• Strong analytical fluency in Excel or Google Sheets; experience with BI tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or equivalent) strongly preferred
• Experience with compensation administration platforms (SPIFF, Xactly, Varicent, or equivalent) and Salesforce; familiarity with financial planning tools (Adaptive Insights, Anaplan, or equivalent) and Workday a plus
• Clear, confident communicator - able to translate complex analytics and financial narratives into plain language for sellers and present findings credibly to senior executives and Finance leadership
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity; able to frame problems, drive toward decisions, and move work forward without waiting for perfect information
• Experience partnering with FP&A or Finance teams on forecasting, variance analysis, or financial planning processes strongly preferred
• Demonstrated success developing analytical talent and building high‑performing teams
• Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP) or Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) is a plus, not a requirement

Benefits + Compensation at PitchBook

Physical Health

• Comprehensive health benefits
• Additional medical wellness incentives
• STD, LTD, AD&D, and life insurance

Emotional Health

• Paid sabbatical program after four years
• Paid family and paternity leave
• Annual educational stipend
• Ability to apply for tuition reimbursement
• CFA exam stipend
• Robust training programs on industry and soft skills
• Employee assistance program
• Generous allotment of vacation days, sick days, and volunteer days

Social Health

• Matching gifts program
• Employee resource groups
• Subsidized emergency childcare
• Dependent Care FSA
• Company‑wide events
• Employee referral bonus program
• Quarterly team building events

Financial Health

• 401k match
• Shared ownership employee stock program
• Monthly transportation stipend

*Please be aware the above PitchBook benefit and perk offerings are subject to corresponding plan and policy documents and may change during the course of your employment.

Compensation

• Annual base salary: $130,000-$170,000
• Target annual bonus percentage: 15%

Working Conditions

At the heart of our company is a belief in the power of in‑person collaboration. Being together in the office fuels our creativity, strengthens our connections, and drives the innovation that sets us apart. Our culture is built on spontaneous moments—those hallway conversations, whiteboard brainstorms, and shared celebrations in each of our global offices—that simply can’t be replicated remotely. This role is expected to be in the office 5 days a week.

The job conditions for this position are in a standard office setting. Employees in this position use PC and phone on an on‑going basis throughout the day. Limited corporate travel may be required to remote offices or other business meetings and events.