Director, Sales Compensation & Planning

Trace3 • Irvine, CA

3d

About The Position

The Director, Sales Compensation & Planning is responsible for 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, supports quota and target setting, aligns compensation with territory planning, and develops analytics to measure plan effectiveness against growth, profitability, and value-capture objectives.

The Director partners with GTM Strategy & Operations, Revenue Operations, Finance, and Sales Leadership to ensure compensation programs support business priorities and pay-for-performance outcomes across all go-to-market segments. The role also leads and develops a team of compensation analysts, providing strategic direction, governance, and operational oversight. It is accountable for plan design and governance, but 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.
• Working knowledge of quota setting, territory planning, account coverage models, and go-to-market segmentation.
• Strong governance and controls mindset with exceptional attention to detail, 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, including commissions, SPIFFs, overrides, accelerators, and MBO components, across sales segments and roles.
• 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, and conduct scenario analysis to evaluate potential 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.
• Serve as the subject matter expert on sales incentive programs and advise Sales leadership on plan interpretation, governance, and crediting rules.
• 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 evaluate performance and recommend enhancements.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of compensation analysts, 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.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for employees and dependents.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• 529 College Savings Plan.
• Health Savings Account.
• Life insurance.
• Long-term disability.
• Competitive compensation.
• Training and development programs.
• Major offices stocked with snacks and beverages.
• Collaborative and cool culture.
• Work-life balance and generous paid time off.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director