Sales Compensation Design lead

Sage; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Health coverage

401(k) match

PTO 32 days

Parental leave

Volunteer days

Tuition reimbursement

Wellness rewards

Career development

Job summary

Sage is seeking a Sales Compensation Design Lead to own the design, governance, and operation of global incentive plans across Sage’s sales force. You will partner with regional GTM leaders, influence executives with data-driven recommendations, and advance a scalable compensation framework to support growth.

You will lead the Center of Excellence efforts, ensure alignment with go-to-market changes, and enable Sales Ops with policy simplification and effective governance—while collaborating with

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in sales compensation design
• 8+ years of advanced data analysis and financial modeling (Excel/Sheets)
• 8+ years of experience with Incentive Compensation Management systems (e.g., Xactly, Varicent)
• Strong understanding of sales compensation, plan design, operations, processes, compliance and enablement
• Experience influencing executives through data-driven recommendations and business cases
• Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
• Ability to deliver clear written and verbal communications to stakeholders
• Proven track record of managing multiple cross-functional projects

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evolution of Sage's sales compensation strategy, plans, policies, and governance.
• Partner with regional leaders to translate strategic objectives into compensation designs.
• Contribute to Center of Excellence for plan design and governance improvements.
• Collaborate with Sales Ops to ensure quota alignment with comp design.
• Coordinate with Finance, Rewards, HR and other teams on compensation issues.
• Review analytics to measure the effectiveness of incentive programs.
• Address complex compensation issues through root-cause analysis and process improvements.
• Create enablement materials and self-service lookups for field teams.

Skills

Sales co design

Data analysis

ECM systems

Stakeholder mgmt

Executive influence

Policy governance

Communication

Project mgmt

Job description

At Sage, we’re building the next generation of Revenue Operations excellence and we’re looking for someone to help drive this! As a Sales Compensation Design Lead, you will be part of a team that leads the design, planning, implementation, governance, enablement, and analysis of Sage’s sales incentive compensation plans across the global regions. We are passionate about developing clear, transparent, and easy-to-understand incentive plans that strive to motivate and reward our diverse and growing sales force.

In this role you will lead the strategic design, governance, and operations of incentive compensation plans, while anticipating how the plans will need to align with Sage’s evolving go-to-market landscape. You will act as the primary point of contact on sales compensation processes and policies in collaboration with different teams across the sales and go-to-market organization

What You’ll Own

• Lead the design and evolution of Sage’s sales compensation strategy, plans, policies, and governance framework ensuring alignment with company growth objectives and go-to-market transformation initiatives in each Region
• Partner with regional sales and GTM leaders to evaluate business priorities, identify incentive opportunities, and translate strategic objectives into effective compensation designs
• Serve as key contributor to Sage’s Sales Compensation Center of Excellence, driving plan design innovation, compensation policy simplification, governance improvements, and scalable global processes that support Sage’s long-term growth strategy
• Work with Sales Ops to ensure sales compensation design and quota frameworks are aligned
• Collaborate and coordinate with Sales Operations, Finance, Rewards, HR, and other stakeholders to ensure all sales compensation related issues are successfully addressed
• Review analytics to examine and communicate the effectiveness of sales incentive programs, policies, and processes
• Resolve complex compensation and policy issues through root-cause analysis, stakeholder partnership, and process improvement recommendations that strengthen the overall compensation framework
• Establish, centralize, and build out enablement materials for the field around sales incentive compensation plans and self-service lookups for sales teams in Xactly

What You’ll Bring

• 8+ years of experience as a sales compensation design specialist, preferably with global B2B SMB organization
• 8+ years of advanced data analysis and financial modeling experience (Excel/Google Sheets), with a proven ability to model plan design changes and predict financial/behavioral outcomes
• 8+ years of experience with Incentive Compensation Management system (e.g., Xactly, Varicent, etc.)
• Strong understanding of sales compensation, plan design policies, plan operations, sales processes, compliance, and plan enablement
• Experience influencing executive-level stakeholders through data-driven recommendations and business case development
• Excellent troubleshooting skills to diagnose complex issues and identify effective solutions
• Ability to deliver clear and concise written and verbal communications to interact with internal stakeholders
• Proven track record of managing multiple projects and initiatives in varying size and scope simultaneously, whether assigned or self-initiated
• Strong stakeholder management skills — able to influence across all levels of the organization
• Exceptional organizational discipline with a focus on delivery quality, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, matrixed, and ambiguous environments, where priorities shift and outcomes matter

Why you'll love this role

You’ll join a collaborative, forward-thinking team that’s modernizing how we think about Sales Compensation. You welcome the opportunity to reshape the current way of managing Sales Compensation and are ecstatic about the possibility of building a next generation Sales Compensation framework that scales across the organization, is welcomed by senior leaders across the business and has a meaningful impact on how Sage exceeds its sales goals while driving growth and efficiency. You do this as part of a flexible team where responsibilities overlap and in addition to professional excellence, we value having fun.

Perks

• Competitive salaries that landed us top 5% of similar sized companies (according to Comparably)
• Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage
• 401(k) retirement match (100% matching up to 4%)
• 32 days paid time off (21 personal days, 10 national holidays, 1 floating holiday)
• 18 weeks paid parental leave for birth, adoption or surrogacy offered 1 year after start date
• 5 days paid yearly to volunteer (through Sage Foundation)
• $5,250 tuition reimbursement per calendar year starting 6 months after hire date
• Sage Wellness Rewards Program ($600 wellness credit and $360 fitness reimbursement annually)
• Library of on demand career development options and ongoing training offerings

Dig deeper about who we are

• Who is Sage: https://www.sage.com/en-us/company/about-sage/
• Life at Sage: https://www.sage.com/en-us/company/careers/
• Our Values & Behaviors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vt5JXf-Gwno&feature=youtu.be
• How we make a difference: https://www.sage.com/en-us/company/sage-foundation/
• Sage Business Cloud - SaaS for Every Business: https://www.sage.com/en-us/products/

The compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, education, and experience. Certain locations require job postings to include a reasonable estimate of the salary range applicable to the role. For this role, in those locations, the target salary range for new hires is: $140K to $180K.

In addition to base salary, employees will participate in either a bonus plan based on company and individual performance, or a role-based, commission plan. Our talent acquisition team will provide the specific opportunity on our bonus or incentive programs to eligible candidates. The range listed is just one component of the Sage total compensation package.

Routes to Revenue

United States

San Jose

Hybrid

Working at Sage means you’re supporting millions of small and mid-sized businesses globally with technology to work smarter and move faster. We build software that reduces busywork so customers can spend less time on admin and more time building their business.

Our colleagues are high-performers who prioritize growth, make bold choices, and focus and galvanize to get things done. They work on meaningful, market-shaping initiatives that stretch their skills, sharpen their craft, and create real customer impact.

Explore our culture and benefits: sage.com/careers/working-at-sage

We celebrate individuality and welcome you to join us if you embrace all backgrounds, identities, beliefs, and ways of working. If you need support applying, contact [e-mail] .

Sales Compensation Design lead

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Sage is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities.

In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at Sage will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Sage does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.