The Opportunity
The Associate Director, Incentive Compensation will play a critical role in supporting the design, administration, and ongoing optimization of incentive compensation plans across five US sales forces. This role combines strategic thought partnership with strong operational execution, helping ensure compensation plans are clear, fair, motivating, compliant, and aligned to business objectives.
This position requires a collaborative, business-minded leader who can translate commercial priorities into effective incentive strategies while managing the details required for accurate goal setting, performance tracking, payout calculations, field communications, and issue resolution. The Associate Director will partner closely with Sales Leadership, Marketing, Finance, HR, Legal, Compliance, Business Technology, Data Operations, and external vendors to deliver reliable, transparent, and scalable incentive compensation processes.
This is a hybrid role, which offers a combination of an onsite and remote work schedule. #LI-hybrid
Key Responsibilities- Provide strategic and operational support for the development, implementation, and administration of incentive compensation plans across five US sales forces.
- Partner with commercial leaders to ensure incentive plans support business priorities, reinforce desired field behaviors, and remain practical for day-to-day administration.
- Support the annual and quarterly incentive compensation planning process, including plan design input, business rule development, goal setting, performance measurement, payout calculations, and governance documentation.
- Collaborate with Sales Leadership, Marketing, Finance, HR, Legal, Compliance, Business Technology, Data Operations, and external vendors to ensure incentive plans are administered accurately, consistently, and in accordance with company policies and applicable requirements.
- Lead or support cross-functional forums to review plan performance, address business questions, resolve operational issues, and align stakeholders on key decisions.
- Develop clear field-facing communications, training materials, timelines, and FAQs to help sales teams understand plan mechanics, performance expectations, and payout processes.
- Analyze incentive plan effectiveness, field performance trends, goal attainment, payout distribution, and potential risks or opportunities for improvement.
- Manage exception, adjustment, and appeal processes with appropriate documentation, governance, stakeholder input, and timely resolution.
- Identify opportunities to streamline incentive compensation operations through improved processes, automation, data quality checks, reporting enhancements, and vendor partnership.
- Maintain strong control discipline around sensitive compensation data, ensuring confidentiality, accuracy, and compliance with internal standards.
- Stay informed on industry practices and emerging trends in pharmaceutical incentive compensation, sales force effectiveness, and field performance management.
Qualifications- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Analytics, Life Sciences, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
- 8+ years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or healthcare commercial operations, sales operations, incentive compensation, analytics, finance, or a related function.
- Strong understanding of incentive compensation plan design, administration, goal setting, sales performance measurement, and payout operations.
- Experience supporting multiple sales forces, business units, or product portfolios preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with senior stakeholders and translate business strategy into practical operational processes.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data, identify trends, pressure-test assumptions, and communicate insights clearly.
- Experience with sales reporting, dashboards, data validation, vendor management, and process improvement strongly preferred.
- High attention to detail, strong project management skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities within tight timelines.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex compensation concepts in a clear, practical, and field-friendly way.
- Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and sound judgment.
Leadership Attributes- Collaborative and credible business partner who builds trust across functions and levels.
- Balanced strategic and operational mindset, with the ability to see the big picture while ensuring flawless execution.
- Clear communicator who can simplify complex topics and drive alignment among diverse stakeholders.
- Problem solver who brings structure, urgency, and sound judgment to ambiguous or time-sensitive situations.
- Continuous improvement mindset with a focus on scalable processes, stronger governance, and better user experiences for field and leadership teams.
- Commitment to fairness, transparency, compliance, and integrity in all incentive compensation activities.
