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.   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, Power Pivot, nested logic formulas, and complex lookup models for financial reconciliation and com