Advances Specialist, Sales Incentives

Advanced Specialist, Sales Incentives - This role aligns to industry level titles such as Senior Sales Compensation Specialist, Senior Sales Incentive Analyst, or Sales Compensation Business Partner.

Location: United States 
 

Pearson is seeking a strategic and business-oriented Advanced Specialist, Sales Incentives to support the design, operationalization, and execution of sales incentive programs across one or more business units within the organization. This role will serve as a key partner to Sales Leadership, Revenue Operations, Finance, HR, and Commercial teams to help align sales incentive strategy with broader business priorities, growth objectives, and organizational goals. 

This individual will play a critical role in translating business strategy into scalable compensation programs and operational delivery plans that drive performance, reinforce desired sales behaviors, and support organizational transformation initiatives. The role requires strong business acumen, partnership skills, operational discipline, and the ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution. 

In addition to helping shape incentive strategies and implementation roadmaps, this role will also support the administration, calculation, validation, and timely processing of sales incentive and commission payments while ensuring alignment to governance standards and operational controls. 

Key Responsibilities 

Sales Incentive Strategy & Business Partnership 

• Partner closely with Sales Leadership, Revenue Operations, Finance, and HR to align sales incentive programs with strategic business priorities and commercial objectives 

• Support the development and evolution of sales incentive plan strategies that drive growth, customer retention, product focus, and sales performance 

• Translate organizational goals and sales priorities into scalable and operationally executable compensation frameworks 

• Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders on compensation effectiveness, incentive alignment, sales behaviors, and operational considerations  

• Help drive consistency, governance, and standardization across sales compensation programs while balancing business-specific needs 

• Participate in compensation planning cycles, strategic discussions, and ongoing optimization initiatives 

Incentive Program Delivery & Operational Execution 

• Lead operational delivery plans and implementation activities associated with annual and mid-year sales incentive plan rollouts 

• Coordinate cross-functional readiness activities with Finance, HR, Systems, and Sales Operations teams 

• Support implementation and operational administration of incentive compensation tools and systems including SPIFF and other Sales Performance Management (SPM) platforms 

• Ensure compensation plans, payout rules, and operational processes are accurately documented and executable 

• Assist in launch readiness efforts including communications, FAQs, leader enablement, testing, and governance validation 

Commission & Incentive Administration 

• Accurately calculate, validate, and process monthly, quarterly, and annual sales incentive and commission payments 

• Validate attainment calculations, quota-related metrics, accelerators, modifiers, kickers, and special incentive programs 

• Ensure all compensation payments are completed accurately and on time in alignment with established governance and payroll timelines 

• Investigate and resolve payout discrepancies, operational issues, and compensation inquiries proactively 

• Maintain strong operational controls and audit-ready documentation supporting compensation processes 

Governance & Continuous Improvement 

• Support governance processes related to incentive compensation strategy, administration, approvals, and payout validation 

• Identify opportunities to improve scalability, efficiency, transparency, and operational effectiveness across compensation processes 

• Help drive simplification and standardization of compensation operations and supporting tools 

• Monitor compensation outcomes and operational trends to support continuous improvement discussions with leadership 

• Contribute to development of policies, procedures, and best practices related to sales incentive administration 

Qualifications 

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Operations, Human Resources, or related field 

• 5+ years of experience in Sales Compensation, Revenue Operations, Sales Operations, Commercial Operations, or related business functions 

• Strong understanding of sales incentive strategy, commission operations, and compensation governance 

• Experience partnering directly with Sales Leadership and cross-functional business stakeholders 

• Strong business acumen and ability to connect compensation strategy to organizational priorities and sales outcomes 

• Experience administering and processing incentive compensation plans 

• Familiarity with Sales Performance Management (SPM) platforms such as SPIFF, Xactly, CaptivateIQ, Varicent, or similar tools 

• Experience working with CRM systems such as Salesforce 

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows: 

The minimum full-time salary range is between $85,000 - $100,000.

This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here.

Applications will be accepted through Monday, July 6, 2026. This window may be extended depending on business needs. 

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