Director, Sales Compensation & Planning

Trace3•Irvine, CA

3d•$150,000 - $200,000

About The Position

The Director, Sales Compensation & Planning leads the design, governance, and continuous improvement of Trace3’s sales incentive compensation programs, including commissions, SPIFFs, overrides, accelerators, and other variable pay programs across the sales organization. The role leads annual incentive plan design, quota and target-setting support, territory-planning alignment, and analytics that assess plan effectiveness against growth, profitability, and value-capture objectives. This leader partners with GTM Strategy & Operations, Revenue Operations, Finance, and Sales Leadership to align compensation programs with business priorities and pay-for-performance outcomes across go-to-market segments. The Director provides strategic direction and operational oversight, and leads and develops a team of compensation analysts. The position is accountable for plan design and governance; it does not calculate, process, approve, or disburse individual payments.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Accounting, Human Resources, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
8+ years of experience in sales compensation, sales operations, revenue operations, finance, compensation, or related analytical disciplines.
3+ years of experience leading and developing professional-level employees and/or teams.
Deep knowledge of sales incentive plan design, including commissions, SPIFFs, overrides, accelerators, quotas, and crediting rules.
Strong financial modeling and analytical skills, including evaluating plan costs, payout scenarios, and business impacts and translating findings into actionable recommendations.
Experience with CRM, ERP, and Sales Performance Management (SPM) platforms; advanced Microsoft Excel skills are required.
Working knowledge of quota setting, territory planning, account coverage models, and go-to-market segmentation.
Strong governance and controls mindset, exceptional attention to detail, and documentation and process discipline.
Ability to build effective partnerships across Sales, Finance, Revenue Operations, and executive leadership while balancing competing business priorities.
Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate complex compensation concepts to senior leaders and stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Experience within a technology, value-added reseller (VAR), distribution, or similar sales-driven environment.

Responsibilities

Design, document, and maintain annual and in-year sales incentive plans across sales segments and roles, including commissions, SPIFFs, overrides, accelerators, and MBO components.
Lead incentive plan governance, including approval workflows, exception handling, plan change control, and audit trails for plan decisions.
Define and document sales compensation policies, crediting rules, and plan terms; maintain the plan document library and participant plan agreements.
Partner with Sales, Finance, and GTM leadership on quota and target-setting methodologies, territory and account coverage planning, and segment-level capacity models.
Model plan costs, payout curves, and pay-for-performance outcomes; conduct scenario analysis to assess proposed plan changes and business impacts.
Build and maintain incentive compensation analytics and reporting on attainment distribution, plan effectiveness, participant behavior, and return on incentive spend.
Lead the annual sales compensation planning cycle, aligning incentive designs with segmentation strategy, value-capture priorities, and revenue growth objectives.
Provide subject-matter expertise and guidance to Sales leadership on plan interpretation, governance, and crediting-rule matters.
Partner with compensation administration, payroll, finance, and systems teams to ensure plans are accurately configured and operationalized in downstream systems.
Establish plan effectiveness metrics and lead recurring business reviews with GTM and Finance leadership to assess program performance and recommend enhancements.
Lead, coach, and develop compensation analysts by setting priorities, reviewing work, and building analytical and business partnership capabilities.
Maintain documentation, controls, and governance practices to support internal and external audits of sales incentive compensation programs.