Sales Compensation Analyst

S&P Global; Colorado; Hybrid; USD 71,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

S&P Global is seeking a seasoned Sales Compensation Analyst to own the end-to-end SPIFF operations and the payee lifecycle across global programs. You will partner with Commercial Strategy, People Operations, and Sales Finance to ensure precise compensation calculations, robust governance, and audit readiness.

Responsibilities include drafting automated tracking, managing life-cycle workflows, and conducting forensic analyses of high-value disputes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in sales compensation administration or incentive program management within a multinational organization.
• Proven experience designing, tracking, and executing incentive programs, SPIFFs, and accelerator campaigns with budget controls and audit docs.
• Experience managing payee lifecycle including prorations, draws, and offboarding calculations.
• Advanced SQL for querying multi-table HRIS data and reconciliations using Python/Pandas, Alteryx, or Excel/VBA.
• Experience administering enterprise incentive platforms (Varicent, Xactly, Anaplan, SAP Commissions) and HRIS systems (Workday).

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end SPIFF operations: translate briefs into criteria, build tracking engines, run calculations, deliver ROI analytics and audit-ready records.
• Manage active payee lifecycle workflows: system setup, prorations, draw schedules, crediting rules, leave adjustments.
• Oversee departure/offboarding precision: finalize settlements, vesting, clawbacks, payroll integration checks.
• Lead forensic financial investigations into high-value disputes, model net impact of deal changes, provide clear recalculation findings.
• Serve as governance/audit liaison: prepare SOX-ready documentation and provide calculation extracts and logs.

Skills

Sales compensation

Incentive programs

Payee lifecycle

SQL

Automation

Tools

Varicent

Xactly

Anaplan

SAP Commissions

Workday

Job description

About the Role:

Grade Level (for internal use):

10

Sales Compensation Analyst — Strategic Incentive Programs & Payee Lifecycle

The Team

We are a high-accountability, globally connected Sales Compensation team that values disciplined execution, a strong sense of urgency, and end-to-end ownership. We expect our people to understand the full lifecycle of their work, anticipate downstream impacts, and communicate outcomes with exceptional clarity, whether supporting our broad population of 1,500 plan participants or partnering with C-level executives. We value precision, responsiveness, sound judgment, collaboration, and people who take ownership through to resolution.

Responsibilities and Impact

If you are at your best when problems are complex, the data is messy, and the stakes are real, this role was built for you. As the operational owner of global SPIFF programs and end-to-end payee lifecycle management at S&P Global Market Intelligence, you will work at the intersection of Commercial Strategy, People Operations, and Sales Finance — ensuring that every compensation event, from a seller’s first day to their last commission payment, is calculated precisely, governed rigorously, and resolved with integrity. This is the function that handles what the standard monthly process cannot — and if that is where you do your best work, this role will give you the scope and the challenge to match.

• Own end-to-end SPIFF operations — translate commercial campaign briefs into precise qualification criteria, crediting logic, and system rate tables; build automated tracking engines using SQL, Python, or Alteryx to monitor real-time attainment and prevent duplicate claims, eligibility mismatches, and off-policy spend; execute all calculations; deliver post-campaign ROI analytics and spend assessments in Power BI; and archive all eligibility criteria, budget sign-offs, and documentation for full audit-readiness.

• Architect and execute active payee lifecycle workflows — manage system setup, prorated quota assignments, draw and guarantee schedules, and ramping accelerators for new hires; model and execute effective-dated target adjustments and split crediting rules for mid-year promotions and role changes; and calculate accurate quota relief, crediting freezes, and temporary account coverage allocations for leaves of absence, in line with regional labour policies and commercial guidelines.

• Own departure and offboarding precision — compute final commission settlements, accelerated vesting, trailing pipeline revenue, and exit reconciliation packages for terminations; manage post-departure claw back reconciliations; and build automated script-based routines linking HRIS platforms, including Workday, with enterprise compensation engines to detect personnel changes, effective-date discrepancies, and reporting line anomalies ahead of payroll processing.

• Conduct forensic financial investigations and resolve disputes — lead evidence-based technical investigations into high-value sales disputes, contested crediting splits, and payout grievances; model the exact net financial impact of deal cancellations, de-bookings, retroactive invoicing revisions, and claw back schedules; prepare objective, data-backed recalculation findings with clear step-by-step mathematical explanations for commercial representatives and sales leadership; and partner with Legal and People Partners on sensitive executive escalations requiring precise scenario modelling.

• Serve as the operational governance and audit liaison — partner with the centralised Governance and Compliance team to operationalize compensation policies; compile audit-ready exception packages for manual overrides, custom draws, departure payouts, and non-standard SPIFF rewards; and supply calculation extracts, system logs, approval documentation, and payee lifecycle audit trails for internal and external SOX testing upon request.

Compensation and Benefits (US Candidates Only)

S&P Global states that the anticipated base salary range for this position is $70,817 to $125,091. Final base salary for this role will be based on the individual’s geographic location, as well as experience level, skill set, training, licenses and certifications.

In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for an annual incentive plan. This role is eligible to receive additional S&P Global benefits. For more information on the benefits we provide to our employees, please visit: https://spgbenefits.com/benefit-summaries

What We Are Looking For

Basic Required Qualifications

• Experience: 5 years in sales compensation administration, incentive program management, or sales operations within a multinational organisation.

• Incentive Program and SPIFF Expertise: Proven track record designing, tracking, and executing tactical commercial incentive programs, SPIFFs, and accelerator campaigns with rigorous budget controls and full audit documentation.

• Payee Lifecycle: Demonstrated experience managing payee lifecycle mechanics including quota proration, draw and guarantee accounting, effective-dated crediting, leave of absence adjustments, and final offboarding commission calculations.

• SQL and Automation: Advanced SQL proficiency for querying multi-table databases, HRIS tables, and transaction ledgers, combined with hands‑on experience using at least one automation or reconciliation tool — Python/Pandas, Alteryx, or Excel/VBA — to reconcile HR data against compensation engines.

• Enterprise Platforms: Practical administration experience with at least one enterprise incentive platform — Varicent, Xactly, Anaplan, or SAP Commissions — and at least one HRIS platform, including Workday.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building automated SPIFF tracking engines or reconciliation routines that integrate HRIS data with enterprise compensation systems in real time.
• Experience conducting post-campaign ROI analytics and spend assessments using Power BI, including presenting commercial velocity and incentive effectiveness insights to sales leadership.
• Demonstrated experience conducting technical, evidence-based financial investigations into high-value sales disputes, contested crediting splits, and payout grievances — including modelling the net financial impact of deal cancellations, de-bookings, and retroactive adjustments.
• Experience compiling audit-ready exception packages and SOX documentation — including calculation extracts, system logs, approval records, and payee lifecycle audit trails — in support of internal and external audit testing.
• Experience partnering with Legal and People Partners on sensitive executive compensation escalations and unique dispute resolution scenarios.
• Experience translating complex commission calculations, SPIFF qualification criteria, and lifecycle adjustments into clear, non-technical explanations for sales representatives and commercial leadership.
• Experience supporting compensation continuity during organizational changes — including corporate transactions, spinoffs, or workforce reductions — by mapping affected payee structures and ensuring accurate lifecycle adjustments throughout the transition.

Right to Work Requirements

This role is limited to persons with indefinite right to work in the United States.

Return to Work — Restart

Have you taken time out for caring responsibilities and are now looking to return to work? As part of our Return to Work initiative, Restart, we are encouraging enthusiastic and talented returners to apply, and will actively support your return to the workplace.

What’s In It For You?

Our Mission:

Advancing Essential Intelligence.

Our People:

We’re more than 35,000 strong worldwide—so we’re able to understand nuances while having a broad perspective. Our team is driven by curiosity and a shared belief that Essential Intelligence can help build a more prosperous future for us all.From finding new ways to measure sustainability to analyzing energy transition across the supply chain to building workflow solutions that make it easy to tap into insight and apply it. We are changing the way people see things and empowering them to make an impact on the world we live in. We’re committed to a more equitable future and to helping our customers find new, sustainable ways of doing business. Join us and help create the critical insights that truly make a difference.

Our Values:

Integrity, Discovery, Partnership

Throughout our history, the world’s leading organizations have relied on us for the Essential Intelligence they need to make confident decisions about the road ahead. We start with a foundation of integrity in all we do, bring a spirit of discovery to our work, and collaborate in close partnership with each other and our customers to achieve shared goals.

Benefits:

We take care of you, so you can take care of business. We care about our people. That’s why we provide everything you—and your career—need to thrive at S&P Global.

Our benefits include:

• Health & Wellness: Health care coverage designed for the mind and body.
• Flexible Downtime: Generous time off helps keep you energized for your time on.
• Continuous Learning: Access a wealth of resources to grow your career and learn valuable new skills.
• Invest in Your Future: Secure your financial future through competitive pay, retirement planning, a continuing education program with a company‑matched student loan contribution, and financial wellness programs.
• Family Friendly Perks: It’s not just about you. S&P Global has perks for your partners and little ones, too, with some best-in class benefits for families.
• Beyond the Basics: From retail discounts to referral incentive awards—small perks can make a big difference.

For more information on benefits by country visit: https://spgbenefits.com/benefit-summaries

Global Hiring and Opportunity at S&P Global:

At S&P Global, we are committed to fostering a connected and engaged workplace where all individuals have access to opportunities based on their skills, experience, and contributions. Our hiring practices emphasize fairness, transparency, and merit, ensuring that we attract and retain top talent. By valuing different perspectives and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration, we drive innovation and power global markets.

Recruitment Fraud Alert:

If you receive an email from a spglobalind.com domain or any other regionally based domains, it is a scam and should be reported to [e-mail] . S&P Global never requires any candidate to pay money for job applications, interviews, offer letters, “pre‑employment training” or for equipment/delivery of equipment. Stay informed and protect yourself from recruitment fraud by reviewing our guidelines, fraudulent domains, and how to report suspicious activity here https://www.spglobal.com/content/dam/spglobal/corporate/en/documents/careers/Corp_0525-Recruitment-Fraud-Alert.pdf .

Equal Opportunity Employer

S&P Global is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law. Only electronic job submissions will be considered for employment.

If you need an accommodation during the application process due to a disability, please send an email to: [e-mail] and your request will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

US Candidates Only: Know Your Rights: Workplace discrimination is illegal https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf

202 – Middle Professional (EEO Job Group) (inactive), 20 – Professional (EEO-2 Job Categories-United States of America), FINANC202.1 – Middle Professional Tier I (EEO Job Group)

Virtual, United Kingdom