Commercial Compensation Lead

DTN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

DTN is hiring a Commercial Compensation Lead is responsible for the strategic design, governance, financial modeling, and continuous optimization of global commercial compensation programs that directly influence revenue growth, seller behavior, and company profitability. This role operates as a subject matter expert and strategic advisor, shaping incentive philosophy, influencing executive decisions, and driving scalable sales compensation infrastructure across the organization. This role partners closely with Sales, Finance, Marketing, HR, and Executive stakeholders to ensure incentive strategy aligns to go-to-market priorities, financial targets, and long-term business objectives.

Requirements

8–10+ years of experience in Sales Compensation, Revenue Operations, FP&A, or related analytical discipline
Deep expertise in incentive plan design and financial modeling
Advanced Excel proficiency; experience with BI tools (PowerBI preferred)
Strong working knowledge of CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce)
Experience influencing executive stakeholders
Ability to communicate complex compensation strategy with clarity and authority

Nice To Haves

Experience in SaaS or recurring revenue models
Understanding of revenue recognition principles
Experience in global incentive plan administration
Experience implementing compensation management platforms

Responsibilities

Sales Compensation Strategy, Design & Governance Lead enterprise-wide annual commercial compensation strategy and plan architecture aligned to evolving GTM and growth strategy
Translate company strategy into incentive structures that drive desired sales behaviors and revenue outcomes
Architect compensation frameworks including pay mix philosophy, accelerators, multipliers, thresholds, caps, guarantees, and crediting rules
Partner with executive leadership on trade-offs between revenue growth, cost of sales, and performance differentiation
Lead financial modeling of compensation scenarios, including cost of sales forecasting and sensitivity analysis
Drive quota-setting methodology and capacity planning alignment
Establish governance frameworks, change control standards, and documentation rigor
Serve as the enterprise subject matter expert on incentive design principles
Own end-to-end quarterly commission calculation process and ensure enterprise-level accuracy and compliance
Develop and oversee commission forecasting models and cost-of-sales projections
Establish data validation standards across CRM, Finance, and payroll systems
Partner with Finance on accrual forecasting and payout risk mitigation
Analyze attainment distributions, productivity metrics, payout leverage, and compensation ROI
Identify systemic risks and recommend structural adjustments to improve plan effectiveness
Design strategic SPIFF and performance accelerator programs aligned to growth initiatives
Ensure SPIFFs are financially disciplined and performance-driven
Measure effectiveness, behavioral impact, and ROI of short-term programs
Establish governance standards for incentive exceptions and discretionary awards
Serve as the senior escalation point for complex compensation inquiries and disputes
Provide executive-level insight into compensation trends and performance patterns
Educate Sales leaders on incentive mechanics and performance implications
Influence leadership decision-making related to performance management and incentive differentiation
Lead compensation alignment to territory and account coverage design
Partner with Sales leadership to evaluate structural fairness, market opportunity distribution, and quota integrity
Analyze territory productivity, white space allocation, and capacity gaps
Ensure crediting rules and compensation design reinforce structural GTM decisions
Identify automation and system enhancement opportunities within compensation processes
Support implementation or optimization of incentive compensation management tools
Develop dashboards and executive reporting frameworks for visibility into cost of sales and attainment health
Drive process simplification and scalability as the organization grows