Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to developing innovative technology solutions to the world’s water challenges. The Company’s products and services move, treat, analyze, monitor and return water to the environment in public utility, industrial, residential and commercial building services settings. Xylem also provides a leading portfolio of smart metering, network technologies and advanced infrastructure analytics solutions for water, electric and gas utilities. The Company’s more than 16,500 employees bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on identifying comprehensive, sustainable solutions. Headquartered in Rye Brook, New York with 2017 revenue of $4.7 billion, Xylem does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands.
The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all – that which occurs in nature. For more information, please visit us at
The Role: Xylem seeks to hire a Senior Director - Global Sales Compensation who will serve as a global program oversight and technical expert for strategic sales compensation design and implementation support for Xylem’s businesses globally. Responsible for designing and modeling sales incentive plans, includes developing related communications and on-going assessment of sales incentive effectiveness. Consults and provides expertise to sales management regarding sales compensation design best practices and trends. Works collaboratively and with a high-level of influence cross-functionally with Sales, Finance, Human Resources and other functions as needed.
This role can be based in any of the following Xylem offices: Rye Brook, NY, Charlotte, NC, Raleigh, NC or Morton Grove, IL
Essential Duties/Principal Responsibilities:
- Serves as global program oversight and technical expert for sales compensation design, implementation and sales incentive effectiveness assessments.
- Performs analysis of benchmarks, competitors, and market studies to ensure variable pay plans are competitive in the marketplace, aligned with the company’s established design guidelines and are compliant.
- Develops models to evaluate current and new sales incentive plan components to determine financial and change impacts for new plan design recommendations. Provides range of cost impacts, varying solutions and identifies opportunities related to commission and sales incentive designs.
- Includes assessing and proposing appropriate incentive design/metrics/tools for other sales support roles (marketing, product development, application supervisors, customer service, etc.).
- Supports the design and development of sales awards and recognition programs based on business needs and priorities. Includes the tracking of such programs and assessing the effectiveness.
- Provides assessment of internal and external sales and incentive trends and provides recommendations for sales improvement opportunities. Sources, extracts and maintains data from various sources for research, custom and ad hoc reporting.
- Consults with leadership to understand internal sales trends, strategies and opportunities in order to recommend solutions.
- Partners with Sales, Finance and Human Resources teams to identify and implement solutions to assist the sales target setting process, on-going reporting and tracking of results and the automation opportunities to help drive sales results, effective plan design and communication along with sales administration efficiencies.
- Oversight and understanding how local teams are administering sales incentives to ensure commission or sales incentive payments have been processed in a timely manner and in accordance with provisions established in the commission/sales incentive plan.
- Develops a range of communications to effectively support the incentive plan design roll-out and on-going tracking of performance. Ensures communications and messaging for sales compensation plans are clear, concise, timely and helps drive the desired engagement and business results.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications: Education, Experience, Skills, Abilities, License/Certification:
- Undergraduate degree in business, marketing, finance, insurance or related field. Graduate degree preferred in business or related discipline.
- License/Certification/Designation: Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP) preferred.
- Typically eight or more years of experience in sales performance and operations environment with specific experience in sales incentive design and administration.
- Knowledge: Mastery level of knowledge of commission and sales incentives -- from design concept, to implementation and post-implementation assessment. Includes demonstrated knowledge of sales standards, best practices, methodologies, and frameworks for sales design and process management. Advanced working knowledge and ability to conduct various statistical and quantitative analysis.
Skills/Competencies:
- Strong verbal and written communication skills for interaction with sales management and other functional teams to make appropriate recommendations. Includes having strong influencing skills through presentation of clear, concise and compelling information relative to business priorities and go-to-market sales strategies/goals.
- Strong analytical ability to research and evaluate complex compensation issues and financial information. Ability to formulate business questions/problems into analytical questions, and conduct analysis.
- Decision-making skills for problem identification and selection of alternatives.
- Strong organization and planning skills to set priorities, and to plan work.
- Proven ability to manage projects.
- Ability to effectively establish and manage multiple databases and business software tools.
Additional Information:
Physical Demands
(The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)
- Light lifting (20-25 lbs.), office environment
- Regularly required to sit or stand, reach, bend and move about the facility
Work Environment
(The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)
- Office: Standard office equipment; work usually performed in an office setting free from any disagreeable elements.
- Standard weekly job hours: 40 hours
EOE/Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Disabled