Sales Compensation Director

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Sales Compensation Director based in India. We are seeking an experienced Sales Compensation Director to lead the strategy, design, and governance of global sales incentive programs within a rapidly growing SaaS environment. In this high-impact leadership role, you will shape compensation frameworks that motivate sales teams, reward performance, and support sustainable revenue growth. You will collaborate with senior leaders across Sales, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, and Revenue Operations to align incentive structures with business priorities. Using advanced analytics, financial modeling, and industry benchmarks, you will optimize quotas, commission plans, and compensation operations across global markets. You will also lead a team of compensation professionals, strengthen governance standards, and ensure accurate, compliant, and scalable processes. This opportunity is ideal for a strategic leader who combines deep SaaS compensation expertise with strong analytical capabilities and the ability to influence executive-level decisions.

Global Sales Compensation Strategy: Lead the end-to-end design, implementation, and evolution of global sales compensation programs, ensuring alignment with company growth objectives, SaaS revenue models, and changing market conditions. Compensation Plan Design: Develop and optimize incentive frameworks for a broad range of go-to-market roles, including Account Executives (AEs), Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), Customer Success Managers (CSMs), channel teams, enterprise sales, and renewals. Quota and Incentive Management: Partner with Sales Leadership to establish performance metrics, quotas, commission structures, accelerators, and incentive mechanisms that encourage high performance and predictable revenue outcomes. Market Benchmarking: Evaluate industry compensation practices, competitive intelligence, and market trends to ensure incentive programs remain competitive and effective in attracting and retaining talent. Governance and Compliance: Establish global standards for compensation plan documentation, approvals, governance, and change management while ensuring compliance with applicable regional regulations, including European Union and Irish employment requirements where relevant. Compensation Operations: Oversee compensation administration, payout processes, system performance, audit controls, and data accuracy to ensure reliable and transparent incentive delivery. Process Improvement and Automation: Identify opportunities to streamline compensation workflows, improve operational efficiency, automate calculations, and strengthen the scalability of compensation processes. Executive and Cross-Functional Partnership: Serve as a senior-level liaison between Sales, Finance, HR, Legal, and Revenue Operations, ensuring alignment on compensation strategy, policies, and execution. Executive Reporting and Recommendations: Present compensation strategies, performance insights, financial analyses, and actionable recommendations to C-suite leaders and other senior stakeholders. Team Leadership: Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of compensation analysts, planners, and operations specialists, fostering accountability, analytical excellence, and continuous improvement. Financial Planning and Modeling: Collaborate with Finance on compensation forecasting, budgeting, financial modeling, and assessments of incentive costs and their impact on business performance. Global Quota-Setting and Capacity Planning: Own the global quota-setting process, incorporating sales capacity modeling, territory alignment, productivity analysis, and regional business requirements. Performance Analytics: Deliver executive-ready reporting on quota attainment, compensation effectiveness, incentive return on investment, and sales productivity across global teams. Risk and Opportunity Identification: Analyze compensation trends and sales performance data to identify potential risks, uncover growth opportunities, and recommend improvements to incentive structures. Requirements: Professional Experience: At least 10 years of experience in sales compensation, revenue operations, sales strategy, or a closely related field, including a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role. SaaS Compensation Expertise: Deep understanding of SaaS commission models, recurring revenue metrics such as Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), and subscription-based sales and renewal models. Global Program Management: Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and scaling global sales compensation programs within a high-growth organization. Compensation Framework Design: Strong expertise in developing incentive plans, commission structures, quota methodologies, accelerators, and performance metrics across diverse go-to-market functions. Analytical and Financial Modeling Skills: Advanced analytical capabilities and proficiency in financial modeling, compensation forecasting, budgeting, and performance analysis. Compensation Technology: Experience with sales compensation and planning platforms such as Xactly, Varicent, Anaplan, or comparable tools. Governance and Regulatory Knowledge: Familiarity with compensation governance, audit controls, operational risk management, and cross-regional employment requirements. Executive Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex analyses clearly and influence senior executives and business leaders. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to build strong partnerships across Sales, Finance, HR, Legal, and Revenue Operations while balancing competing priorities and business needs. Global Leadership: Experience leading international teams and managing compensation programs across multiple regions, taking into account local requirements and operational differences. Strategic Thinking: Strong business judgment, problem-solving skills, and the ability to translate company objectives and sales performance insights into effective compensation strategies. Education: A bachelor's degree is required. An MBA or another relevant advanced degree is preferred. Continuous Improvement Mindset: A proactive approach to improving compensation processes, strengthening data quality, and introducing scalable systems and practices. Benefits: Competitive Compensation: Attractive compensation package with performance-based incentives. Strategic Leadership Opportunity: Lead global sales compensation initiatives and influence business performance at an organizational level. Global Business Impact: Shape incentive strategies that support sales productivity, revenue growth, and the success of international go-to-market teams. Professional Development: Opportunities to expand leadership capabilities, deepen compensation expertise, and contribute to strategic business initiatives. Collaborative Culture: Work closely with senior leaders and cross-functional teams in a collaborative, results-oriented environment. Comprehensive Benefits: Access to a broad employee benefits package, with specific coverage and eligibility details to be confirmed during recruitment. Growth-Oriented Environment: Contribute to a rapidly scaling SaaS business where compensation strategy plays a critical role in organizational success.