Director, Performance Management & Sales Incentive Planning

About the role

The Director, CMS Performance Management & Sales Incentive Planning will lead the global CMS (Commercial and Money Movement Solutions) Performance Management Center of Excellence, shaping how seller performance is measured, rewarded, and optimized across regions and business units.

This is a highly visible leadership role at the intersection of sales strategy, performance management, analytics, and incentive design. The successful candidate will influence how CMS sellers are aligned to business priorities through performance frameworks, quota methodologies, incentive programs, and governance models that drive growth and accountability.

The leader will evaluate whether quotas, territories, measures, and incentive plans are delivering the desired commercial outcomes and use data-driven insights to recommend improvements. They will partner closely with senior leaders across Sales, Finance, HR, Compensation, and Commercial Operations to build scalable solutions that enhance seller effectiveness and business performance.

Success in this role requires strategic thinking, strong people leadership, executive presence, and the ability to influence across a complex global organization.

Why This Role Matters

• Shape how a global sales organization measures performance, rewards success, and drives growth.
• Partner directly with senior CMS leaders on high-impact business decisions.
• Lead the evolution of performance and incentive strategies that influence seller behavior and commercial outcomes worldwide.
• Lead and develop a team of high performing experts.

Key Responsibilities

Performance Strategy & Incentive Governance

• Define and evolve the global framework for measuring and managing seller performance across CMS.
• Translate CMS business growth priorities into seller objectives, performance measures, accountability mechanisms, and incentive strategies.
• Assess the effectiveness of performance plans, metrics, and governance processes in driving desired business outcomes.
• Recommend improvements that increase commercial effectiveness, transparency, and execution excellence.

People & Program Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team spanning performance management, incentive planning, quota and territory frameworks, executive communications, and regional partnership.
• Build a high-performing organization with shared priorities, clear ownership, and consistent operating disciplines.
• Manage strategic roadmaps, planning cycles, milestones, risks, dependencies, and leadership communications.
• Develop team capabilities in strategic thinking, data-driven decision making, communication, and sales incentive expertise.

Target, Quota & Performance Frameworks

• Connect enterprise and business unit objectives to regional, team, and individual seller goals.
• Establish quota-setting methodologies, target allocation principles, and performance management standards.
• Create a cohesive performance framework across territories, assignments, quotas, scorecards, and incentive measures.
• Lead scenario modeling and tradeoff analysis to support critical decisions related to coverage, targets, and plan design.

Executive Insights & Communication

• Create executive-level business reviews, performance narratives, and decision-support materials.
• Translate complex data into actionable insights and clear recommendations for senior leaders.
• Leverage attainment, pipeline, territory, client, and business performance data to identify opportunities and risks.
• Communicate key decisions, expected outcomes, and measures of success.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution

• Partner closely with Sales, Finance, HR, Total Rewards, Sales Compensation Operations, Commercial Operations, and regional leadership teams.
• Build alignment across a matrixed organization and navigate competing priorities to drive decisions.
• Ensure approved strategies and incentive plans are executed effectively and deliver intended outcomes.
• Champion simplification, automation, AI adoption, and scalable decision-support capabilities that improve business performance.

Visa requires at least 3 days in office. In-office expectations will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Basic Qualifications

• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in sales compensation, performance management, sales strategy, commercial operations, business planning, finance, consulting, or a related field.
• Experience shaping sales incentive strategy, performance frameworks, quota or target-setting, coverage models, or sales-process transformation.
• Proven people leader with experience managing experienced managers and subject matter experts, driving performance, developing talent, and building high-performing teams.
• Strong program leadership, with experience managing complex work across strategic planning cycles, governance forums, and cross-functional workstreams.
• Ability to use data to diagnose issues, assess business impact, develop recommendations, and communicate clearly with senior leaders.
• Proven ability to lead through influence across sales, finance, HR, operations, and other cross-functional partners.
• Experience supporting global or multi-region sales organizations in a matrixed environment.
• Experience in payments or another business model with complex revenue, client, product, and seller relationships.
• Experience shaping sales incentive strategy, quota and territory frameworks, governance, and plan-effectiveness analysis within a complex sales organization.
• Experience using dashboards, scenario modeling, business reviews, commercial and performance data, automation, AI, or advanced analytics to improve decisions.
• Strategic thinking, commercial judgment, and data-backed storytelling
• People leadership, coaching, and team integration
• Structured program leadership and operational discipline
• Ability to simplify complexity, influence across functions, and drive decisions
• Ownership, adaptability, and practical change leadership

Pay and benefits

For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $188,400.00 to $ 301,500.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

Work Hours

Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements

This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements

This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.