Senior Manager, Sales Incentives & Goals

The Vanguard Group; Malvern (Chester County); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The Vanguard Group is seeking a Senior Manager, Sales Incentives & Goals for our Financial Advisor Services (FAS) business. You will design and govern incentive frameworks that motivate our sales teams, ensuring clarity, fairness, and alignment with strategic priorities.

This role leads annual goal setting, incentive plan design, payouts, and governance, reporting to the Head of Distribution Strategy & Planning.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in sales compensation strategy, incentive design, or distribution planning.
• Proven ability to design and govern incentive plans for complex, multi-channel sales organizations.
• Strong analytical skills with capacity modeling, goal setting, and payout accuracy.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance standards for incentive programs.

Responsibilities

• Design Incentive Strategy: Develop annual incentive plans that balance simplicity, competitiveness, and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Set Clear Goals: Define annual sales targets by segment, territory, and role—anchored in capacity models, historical performance, and growth objectives.
• Govern with Discipline: Establish governance routines for plan approval, payout accuracy, and compliance with regulatory and internal standards.
• Partner Cross-Functionally: Work with Finance, HR, Legal, and Distribution leadership to ensure incentive plans are financially sound, legally compliant, and operationally executable.
• Measure and Optimize: Monitor incentive effectiveness and goal attainment; recommend adjustments based on performance insights and market benchmarks.

Skills

Incentive design

Sales compensation

Distribution planning

Capacity modeling

Data analysis

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional influence

Governance

Job description

Senior Manager, Sales Incentives & Goals At Vanguard, we are transforming our distribution ecosystem—and aligning incentives to drive performance is a critical part of that journey. As the Senior Manager, Sales Incentives & Goals for our Financial Advisor Services (FAS) business, you will design and govern the frameworks that motivate our sales teams, ensuring clarity, fairness, and alignment with strategic priorities. This role reports to the Head of Distribution Strategy & Planning and leads a team responsible for: Annual Goal Setting: Establishing sales targets by segment, territory, and role Incentive Plan Design: Creating incentive structures that reward behaviors aligned to strategic outcomes Payouts & Governance: Managing payout processes, compliance, and governance routines With over $4 trillion in assets under management across our intermediary channel, Vanguard’s FAS division is a market leader. This role is critical to ensuring our sales force is motivated and rewarded in ways that drive growth, deepen advisor relationships, and reinforce Vanguard’s mission.

Responsibilities

• Design Incentive Strategy: Develop annual incentive plans that balance simplicity, competitiveness, and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Set Clear Goals: Define annual sales targets by segment, territory, and role—anchored in capacity models, historical performance, and growth objectives.
• Govern with Discipline: Establish governance routines for plan approval, payout accuracy, and compliance with regulatory and internal standards.
• Partner Cross-Functionally: Work with Finance, HR, Legal, and Distribution leadership to ensure incentive plans are financially sound, legally compliant, and operationally executable.
• Measure and Optimize: Monitor incentive effectiveness and goal attainment; recommend adjustments based on performance insights and market benchmarks.

The Ideal Candidate

• 10+ years of experience in sales compensation strategy, incentive design, or distribution planning
• Proven ability to design and govern incentive plans for complex, multi-channel sales organizations
• Strong analytical skills and experience with capacity modeling, goal setting, and payout accuracy
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance standards for incentive programs
• Executive presence and ability to influence across Finance, HR, Legal, and Distribution leadership

Special Factors Sponsorship

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission. To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience. Vanguard, one of the world's leading investment management companies, serves individual investors, institutions, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and financial professionals. We have a diverse and talented crew with a culture that promotes teamwork, along with an unwavering focus on serving our clients' best interests.