Director, Sales Incentive Compensation (Whippany, New Jersey, US)
About this opportunity
At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where 'Health for all Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.
Director, Sales Incentive Compensation
The Director, Sales Incentive Compensation is responsible for leading the strategy, design, implementation, governance, and operational management of incentive compensation programs that align field execution with enterprise and brand objectives. This leader serves as a strategic partner to Brand Leadership, Sales Leadership, Commercial Operations, Finance, and HR to design incentive plans that motivate the right behaviors, reinforce commercial strategy, and deliver measurable business outcomes. This role balances strategic plan design with flawless operational execution, ensuring incentive programs are equitable, compliant, analytically sound, and operationally efficient. The Director will lead the end-to-end incentive compensation lifecycle, from strategy development and modeling through governance, implementation, administration, communication, and ongoing optimization.
YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The primary responsibilities of this role, Director, Sales Incentive Compensation, are:
Incentive Compensation Strategy, Plan Design & Governance
Partner with Brand and Sales Leadership to translate commercial strategy into incentive compensation plans that drive desired behaviors and business performance.
Lead annual plan design and ongoing changes, including measures, weighting, payout mechanics, thresholds, accelerators, and special incentives.
Develop financial models, scenario analyses, payout simulations, and risk assessments to support executive decision-making.
Present recommendations, trade-offs, and business impact to senior leadership and governance forums.
Evaluate market trends and industry best practices to continuously improve incentive plan effectiveness.
Establish governance processes that ensure consistency, transparency, compliance, and appropriate documentation.
Cross-Functional Strategic Partnership, Communications & Change Management
Serve as the primary incentive compensation advisor to Commercial Leadership, Brand Teams, Sales Leadership, Finance, HR, Legal, Compliance, and Field Operations.
Influence senior stakeholders through data-driven recommendations, consultation, and clear articulation of plan trade-offs.
Facilitate cross-functional alignment through plan development, approval, implementation, and optimization.
Develop executive presentations, training materials, field communications, FAQs, manager guides, and supporting documentation.
Incentive Compensation Operations & Process Excellence
Lead incentive compensation administration, including implementation, data validation, processing, payout calculations, exceptions, vendor management, quality assurance, and audit readiness.
Ensure accurate and timely incentive compensation payments while maintaining strong operational controls.
Design scalable procedures, approval workflows, governance documentation, controls, and repeatable processes.
Drive continuous improvement, automation, and technology enablement to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Communications & Change Management
Develop clear, compelling incentive compensation materials for executives, managers, and field teams.
Lead communication of incentive plans through leadership presentations, training sessions, FAQs, field guides, and supporting documentation.
Ensure managers and sales representatives understand plan mechanics, performance expectations, and payout methodologies.
Create executive-ready presentations that clearly communicate plan rationale, expected business impact, and performance outcomes.
WHO YOU ARE
Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree required;
Progressive experience in pharmaceutical / biotechnology sales incentive compensation.
Experience designing, implementing, and administering incentive compensation programs for field organizations.
Demonstrated success partnering with Commercial, Sales, Brand, Finance, HR, Legal, and Compliance stakeholders.
Experience developing governance frameworks, scalable processes, operational controls, and cross-functional workflows.
Knowledge & Skills
Deep understanding of pharmaceutical commercial models, sales organizations, and incentive compensation methodologies.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate complex analyses into actionable business recommendations.
Strong financial modeling, scenario planning, payout simulation, and business case development capabilities.
Experience managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced commercial environment.
Proven ability to influence without direct authority across senior leadership and cross-functional teams.
Excellent executive presence, presentation, communication, project management, and organizational skills.
High attention to detail with a commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; incentive compensation platforms and analytics tools preferred.
Leadership Competencies
Strategic thinker who connects commercial strategy to field execution.
Trusted advisor who influences executive decision-making and builds cross-functional alignment.
Data-driven leader with strong business acumen and a continuous improvement mindset.
Exceptional communicator who simplifies complex concepts for diverse audiences.
Preferred Qualifications:
Advanced degree
5+ years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical / biotechnology sales incentive compensation.
Employees can expect to be paid a salary of between $177,000-$266,000. Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission (if relevant). Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc. This salary range is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors. This posting will be available for application until at least: 8/4/2026.
YOUR APPLICATION Bayer offers a wide variety of competitive compensation and benefits programs. If you meet the requirements of this unique opportunity, and want to impact our mission Health for all, Hunger for none, we encourage you to apply now. Be part of something bigger. Be you. Be Bayer.
To all recruitment agencies: Bayer does not accept unsolicited third party resumes.
Bayer is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans
Bayer is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in its application process for individuals with disabilities and encourages applicants with disabilities to request any needed accommodation(s) using the contact information below.
Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: Notice for U.S. Visitors: All information on this site is subject to compliance with local rule and regulations as they may vary from time to time and across different geographies, including, without limitation, U.S. Executive Orders. Bayer is an E-Verify Employer. Location: United States : New Jersey : Whippany || United States : New Jersey : Residence Based || United States : New York : Residence Based || United States : Residence Based : Residence Based Division: Pharmaceuticals Reference Code: 876591 Contact Us Email: [email protected] ]]>
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Sales role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 67 comparable Director Sales roles across 20 biopharma companies.
Salary context
17 of 67 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 67 comparable roles
Seniority mix
67 of 67 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
25 of 67 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
How we calculate "similar"
No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.
Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.