Senior Manager, Sales Compensation Strategy & Incentives
StaplesAbout the role
Our world class sales and sales support teams work directly with businesses of all sizes to offer products and services to meet our customers’ unique needs. We are committed to understanding our customers and use best-in-class sales tools and technology to find the best solutions. We’re constantly discovering new ways to reach our goals, taking time to develop our skills, and investing in our career growth, so we can enjoy lucrative opportunities and grow our careers both within and beyond sales.
The Senior Manager of Sales Incentive Compensation is a strategic leadership role responsible for the design, implementation, and administration of sales incentive compensation plans. This position oversees the development and execution of sales contests, promotions, and incentive programs to drive sales performance and achieve business objectives. The incumbent will collaborate cross-functionally to ensure alignment with sales strategies and objectives.
What you’ll be doing:
Sales Compensation Strategy & Design
- Lead the design, implementation, and administration of sales compensation programs that align with company objectives, support growth targets, and drive desired sales behaviors.
- Partner with Sales Leadership, Finance, HR, and Sales Operations to develop compensation strategies that balance motivation, performance, and fiscal responsibility.
- Design and manage incentive programs including commissions, bonuses, SPIFFs, accelerators, and sales contests.
- Conduct market benchmarking and assess industry trends to ensure compensation programs remain competitive and effective.
Compensation Planning, Modeling & Governance
- Develop financial models and forecasting analyses to evaluate compensation plan effectiveness, payout scenarios, and budget impact.
- Analyze sales performance data and compensation outcomes to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for optimization.
- Conduct regular plan reviews and recommend adjustments to improve performance, retention, scalability, and alignment to business priorities.
- Maintain compensation governance processes, policies, and controls to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance.
- Partner with Finance during monthly and quarterly close processes to support accruals, payout forecasting, and reporting.
Communication, Enablement & Change Management
- Lead rollout and communication of compensation plans, ensuring clarity, transparency, and adoption across sales organizations.
- Develop training materials, plan documentation, FAQs, and enablement sessions for sales teams and managers.
- Present compensation insights, recommendations, and program performance to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
Sales Contest Management
- Design and administer sales contests and short-term incentive programs aligned to strategic business objectives.
- Define contest rules, scoring methodologies, eligibility requirements, and success metrics.
- Create and distribute contest communications and performance updates to drive engagement and participation.
- Evaluate contest effectiveness and provide recommendations for future program enhancements.
Cross-Functional Partnership & Compliance
- Partner closely with HR, Legal, Finance, Payroll, and Sales Operations to ensure compensation programs comply with company policies and regulatory requirements.
- Support audit requests and maintain documentation related to compensation plans, approvals, and payout processes.
- Stay informed on emerging trends, best practices, and technologies in sales compensation and incentive design.
What you bring to the table:
- Proven ability to design and evolve sales compensation programs that influence seller behavior and drive measurable business outcomes.
- Strong analytical mindset with experience building and leveraging compensation models to inform decisions, forecast outcomes, and optimize performance.
- Ability to translate ambiguous business needs into structured, scalable compensation solutions.
- Confidence and executive presence to influence, challenge, and partner with senior sales and cross-functional leaders.
- Experience leading end-to-end execution of incentive programs, including design, communication, tracking, and payout.
- Strong attention to detail with the ability to anticipate downstream impacts and manage complex processes with accuracy.
- Highly self-directed, with a track record of operating autonomously and driving work forward in fast-paced, evolving environment.
What’s needed- Basic Qualifications:
- 8+ years of progressive ex
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