Director, Global Sales Compensation

Fivetran Fivetran · Data AI · Oakland, CA · Sales Department

This role is for a Director of Sales Compensation at Fivetran, leading global incentive design, governance, and operations. The position requires a hands-on leader who can build models, coach teams, and influence executive decisions. Responsibilities include leading the sales incentive planning and design process, architecting compensation plans for various pricing models, advising senior leadership, modernizing compensation operations through AI automation, building and leading a team, establishing global plan governance, designing and running plan effectiveness analytics, driving communication and enablement, ensuring compliance with ASC 606 and local regulations, and running quarterly plan reviews. The role requires 10+ years of experience in sales compensation or related analytical functions, with at least 5 years of people management experience. Strong technical skills in commission automation platforms (like Xactly), SQL, Excel, and BI tools are necessary, along with exceptional analytical rigor and stakeholder management skills. Bonus skills include experience in high-growth SaaS companies, hands-on experience integrating AI or automation into compensation processes, and familiarity with international pay compliance.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead the global sales incentive planning and design process, owning frameworks that translate executive strategy into field behavior.
  2. Architect and implement compensation plans for consumption/usage based pricing models across Enterprise, Commercial, and Channel sales.
  3. Serve as a strategic advisor to GTM and Finance senior leadership, presenting data-driven tradeoffs and recommendations to the Sales Compensation Committee.
  4. Modernize compensation operations by driving AI automation, governance, and scalable execution within Xactly or equivalent systems.
  5. Build and lead a high-performing Sales Compensation team, including managers and senior analysts, and own hiring, coaching, and development.

Skills

Required

  • 10+ years of experience in sales compensation, sales strategy, or related analytical function; significant experience designing and operating global incentive programs at enterprise scale.
  • Minimum of 5 years of people management experience building and scaling compensation teams.
  • Deep knowledge of incentive plan mechanics across Enterprise, Commercial, and Channel sales, including quota and territory design, pay mix, accelerators, SPIFFs, and exception governance.
  • Proven experience with consumption or usage based pricing models and how to translate them into effective incentive plans.
  • Strong technical command of Xactly or other commission automation platforms, plus advanced modeling skills in SQL, Excel, and BI tools.
  • Exceptional analytical rigor with experience running complex modeling, scenario analysis, plan ROI and leakage reviews, and commission accrual modeling under ASC 606.
  • Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills; comfortable advising C-suite and navigating matrixed organizations without direct authority.

Nice to have

  • Direct experience at a high growth SaaS company undergoing product or pricing transformation.
  • Hands on experience integrating AI or automation to improve compensation transparency and forecasting.
  • Familiarity with international pay compliance and tax considerations for variable pay.

What the JD emphasized

  • AI automation