Sales Compensation Analyst (Compensation & Payroll Operations)

About the Role

Grade Level (for internal use)

10

The Role

The Sales Compensation Analyst (Compensation & Payroll Operations) is a critical technical and operational position within the global Sales Compensation team.

The Team

You will join the global Sales Compensation team — a high-impact, technically sophisticated group at the operational heart of S&P Global's commercial engine. Spanning time zones and geographies, we combine enterprise system precision with financial rigor to ensure 1,500+ salespeople worldwide are paid accurately and on time, every single cycle. We are a team that values methodical problem-solving, cross-functional collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to scalable, auditable, and compliant operations.

Responsibilities and Impact:

• Drive end-to-end commission calculation cycles for 1,500+ global payees across all commercial business units — delivering 100% mathematically precise, on-time payroll files to regional Finance and Payroll teams across the US, EMEA, and APAC.

• Administer and configure the enterprise Xactly platform (Incent, Connect & Analytics) — owning crediting rule setup, tiered accelerator matrices, split-crediting algorithms, batch ETL pipeline monitoring, and participant security profiles that directly reflect published annual compensation plans.

• Execute the full payee lifecycle — from configuring new hire profiles and quota ramp models, to implementing mid-period role transitions, LOA credit adjustments, and producing audit-ready departure settlement calculations.

• Build and optimize advanced SQL queries and Python/Alteryx automation scripts to perform high-volume ledger-to-payout reconciliations, pre-payroll sanity checks, distribution curve analyses, and root-cause remediation of calculation anomalies before file delivery.

• Lead annual platform readiness activities — authoring UAT test scripts, executing calculation logic change validation, managing plan roll-forwards, and maintaining comprehensive SOPs and runbooks that keep operational cycles repeatable and defensible.

• Serve as the frontline operational liaison to the Central Governance & Compliance team — delivering automated calculation logs, approval artifacts, and clear mathematical payout explanations to global sales leaders, managers, and representatives across multiple time zones.

Key Responsibilities

Xactly System Administration & Configuration Management

• Serve as the core hands-on administrator for Xactly Incent, Xactly Connect, and Xactly Analytics, overseeing rule configurations, crediting logic, participant hierarchies, and payout rate tables.

• Configure and maintain crediting rules, plan logic, tiered accelerator matrices, and split-crediting algorithms inside Xactly to reflect published annual compensation plans.

• Manage batch ETL integrations and data sync pipelines between upstream CRM/data warehouse platforms and Xactly Connect, proactively monitoring API sync jobs and resolving ingestion failures.

• Lead platform readiness for annual plan roll-forwards, plan parameter cutovers, and system testing; author test scripts and perform User Acceptance Testing for calculation logic changes.

• Administer participant security profiles, statement release workflows, and audit tracking within Xactly to ensure strict data privacy and system integrity.

End-to-End Commission Calculation & Payroll Execution

• Own and execute the monthly and quarterly commission calculation process across all global commercial business units, ensuring 100% timeliness and mathematical precision.

• Lead high-pressure calculation cycles against strict monthly payroll cutoffs, coordinating data freezes, calculation runs, manual adjustment validations, and final payroll sign-offs.

• Generate, reconcile, and format gross-to-net payroll transmission files, ensuring seamless handoffs to regional Payroll and Finance teams in the US, EMEA, and APAC.

• Perform automated pre-payroll sanity checks, distribution curve analyses, and historical variance spot-checks to catch calculation spikes, zero-payout outliers, and crediting bugs before file delivery.

• Execute calculation reruns, retroactive plan corrections, and adjustment batches within established cutover windows.

Payee Lifecycle Operational Execution

• New Hires & Onboarding: Configure new payee profiles in Xactly, assign plan rules, set up draw and guarantee schedules, and apply effective-dated quota ramp models based on start dates.

• Mid-Period Role Changes & Promotions: Implement plan transitions, target prorations, and crediting split adjustments for internal transfers and commercial promotions.

• Leaves of Absence (LOA): Adjust quota relief parameters, freeze crediting timelines, and prorate plan targets according to regional statutory and corporate policy guidelines.

• Departures & Offboarding: Calculate final commission settlements, review trailing pipeline revenues, verify recovery and clawback schedules, and deliver audit-ready exit calculations.

• HRIS-to-Engine Roster Reconciliation: Run scheduled automated reconciliations between Workday/HRIS and Xactly to identify roster deltas, missing employee IDs, and effective-date mismatches before payroll lock.

Advanced Data Reconciliations, Automation & Quality Assurance

• Build, maintain, and optimize complex SQL queries to extract, join, and audit high-volume transaction datasets across enterprise databases and calculation engines.

• Develop automated data reconciliation scripts using Python (Pandas), Alteryx, or advanced script-based tools to perform automated ledgers-to-payout reconciliations.

• Identify, isolate, and remediate root causes of data anomalies, including duplicate deal bookings, mismatched currency conversions, orphan transactions, and misaligned territory mapping.

• Maintain comprehensive calculation runbooks, process maps, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure repeatable, documented operational cycles.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Governance Liaison

• Partner with regional Payroll teams to investigate post-payroll discrepancies, off-cycle payment adjustments, and tax or deduction inquiries.

• Collaborate with the global Modeling and Strategic Programs analysts to transition new incentive rules and SPIFF structures into scalable Xactly calculation logic.

• Act as the frontline operational execution partner to the dedicated Central Governance & Compliance team, providing automated calculation logs, approval artifacts, and audit evidence for internal and external reviews.

• Provide clear, step-by-step mathematical explanations to sales managers and representatives regarding payout mechanics, adjustment deductions, and statement reporting.

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Basic Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of technical sales compensation operations, financial systems administration, or payroll calculation experience in a complex, multi-national corporate environment.

• Xactly Platform: Minimum 2 years of hands-on administration and configuration experience with Xactly Incent and Xactly Connect, including crediting rule configuration, plan logic setup, and payout rate table management.

• SQL Proficiency: Demonstrated experience writing complex multi-table JOIN queries, subqueries, indexing, and aggregation scripts to validate high-volume financial transaction datasets.

• Data Automation: Proven experience building automated data validation or reconciliation pipelines using Python (Pandas), Alteryx, or VBA/Power Query in a financial operations context.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Xactly Certification: Xactly Certified Administrator credential; or equivalent platform certification in Varicent, Anaplan, or SAP Commissions.

• HRIS & CRM: Demonstrated experience using Workday for HRIS roster management and Salesforce for CRM data structures and effective-dating logic in a compensation operations context.

• Advanced Excel: Proven use of dynamic arrays, Powe