Head of Sales Compensation, Gusto
$202-297.5k
Salary dependent on location. This role is also eligible for an annual variable cash bonus (up to 20%)
2 days a week in office
Automated payroll, benefits & HR platform
Be an early applicant
Automated payroll, benefits & HR platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$202-297.5k
Salary dependent on location. This role is also eligible for an annual variable cash bonus (up to 20%)
2 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To create a world where work empowers a better life.
Role
Who you are
- Experience: 10+ years of experience in sales compensation design and operationalization, with at least 3+ years in a leadership role within a SaaS environment
- Analytical Skills: A dynamic leader with exceptional analytical abilities. You are just as comfortable leading the strategic design of a program as you are with the hands-on implementation and administration of daily processes
- Technical Expertise: Proven experience in analyzing and optimizing compensation plans and processes. Proficiency with Salesforce (SFDC) and a compensation management tool like Xactly is required
- Communication & Influence: A persuasive communicator who uses data to tell a story and back up recommendations. You can influence leadership, inspire team members to think big, and flex naturally between high-level strategy and rolling up your sleeves to get things done
- Problem-Solving Mindset: You are passionate about sales and creatively find ways to make teams more productive. You thrive in high-growth, fast-paced environments where things move quickly and processes are constantly evolving
- Adaptable & Detail-Oriented: You are hyper-organized with strong attention to detail. Effective stakeholder and project management are part of your core skill set
What the job involves
- As the Head of Sales Compensation at Gusto, you will be a key leader and strategic advisor to our Sales leadership teams, reporting into the Head of Revenue Operations
- You will own the end-to-end strategy, design, and operationalization of all incentive compensation plans across our Sales organizations
- This is a dynamic role where you'll apply your experience, analytical skills, and passion for sales to ensure our compensation programs are competitive, fair, and aligned with our ambitious growth objectives
- You'll partner closely with leadership across Sales, RevOps, Finance, and People to successfully attract, motivate, and retain top talent
- You will also directly lead a team of Sales Compensation Analysts
- Strategic Leadership & Execution: Act as a strategic thought partner to GTM/Sales and Finance leaders on incentive strategy and plan design
- You'll not only develop a clear compensation vision but also possess the operational chops to execute on it
- This includes rolling up your sleeves to troubleshoot issues, building robust operational mechanisms, and partnering with Sales Ops and other systems teams to solve problems as they arise
- Program Ownership: Lead the full lifecycle of sales compensation, from annual and semi-annual planning and plan design (curves, components, weightings) to implementation (using platforms like Xactly and SFDC), training, and daily administration
- Team Leadership: Empower a team of Sales Compensation Analysts, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment
- Operational Excellence: Drive efficiency and accuracy by documenting, optimizing, and automating processes for quotas, crediting, attainment reporting, and resolving disputes. Establish clear cadences for planning and reviews
- Compliance & Governance: Design, implement, and monitor compensation process controls to ensure internal compliance and educate cross-functional partners on the rationale behind key business decisions
- Performance & Analytics: Track and report on the effectiveness of compensation programs, monitoring key metrics such as budget adherence, error rates, and program ROI to ensure we're achieving desired outcomes
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with GTM/Sales, Sales Ops, Finance, and People teams to enhance sales engagement and productivity through effective compensation, helping to recruit and retain the best talent
Our take
For many small businesses, vital administrative tasks such as payroll, taxes, and benefits are manual tasks that take time and energy which many SMB owners don’t have. The three co-founders of Gusto – all coming from small business backgrounds – collaborated on a Fintech company that would handle employee payments, benefits administration, and compliance support specifically for small businesses.
The company may have started slowly, as the founders focused on nailing each individual aspect of Gusto’s operations, but has now skyrocketed to unicorn status with more than 200,000 customers and a multi-billion dollar valuation. In 2021, Gusto began acquiring other companies to strengthen its offering and its position in a competitive market, including two other fintech startups, Ardius and Symmetry.
Through its continued acquisitions and fundraising efforts, the company has carved out a strong position for itself in the space. Although Gusto has found itself impacted by the macroeconomic situation, through the significant effect it has had on its clientele, the company still appears positive for the future after raising funds in 2023 that will see it reach key profitability benchmarks. It continues to consolidate its platform, for example by integrating with OpenComp to grant its users access to the company's Compensation Intelligence Platform.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
45% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
May 2022
$55m
SERIES E
Aug 2021
$175m
SERIES E
Total funding: $706.3m
Company benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, plus a variety of mental health resources
- Flexible vacation - Gusties are encouraged to take the time off they need to continue doing great work
- Fertility treatments, parental leave, pregnancy termination, caregiving, gender-affirming surgery, hormone treatments, transgender-inclusive services, and more
- If you work at one of our homebases, enjoy food, drinks, and good conversation — on us
- Celebrate 5 or 10 years at Gusto and take a month off to recharge
- Take advantage of internet, phone, commuter, and wellness stipends each month, along with a WFH stipend and cash for anniversaries
Company HQ
Central Waterfront, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Joshua Reeves
(CEO)Studied Electrical Engineering at Stanford and went onto co-found Gusto in 2011.
Tomer London
(CPO)Has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. Was a Researcher at Intel, and then interned at Bump Technologies. Co-founded Vizmo, a mobile self-service technologies company, in 2008. Co-founded Gusto in 2011.
Edward Kim
(Head of Engineering)Studied Electrical Engineering at Stanford. Was Senior Project Engineer at Volkswagen of America Electronics Research Lab and then co-founded Picwing, a printed photos company, in 2008. Co-founded Gusto in 2011.
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