As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena is committed to a people-first approach. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a flexible work setting that empowers individual growth, well-being, and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.

The Senior Leader, Sales Compensation is responsible for the global design and end-to-end execution of variable compensation programs supporting 800+ commission-eligible employees across multiple regions worldwide, including the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The role operates in a highly complex, multinational environment, requiring strong alignment to regional go-to-market strategies.

The role primarily supports direct global sales, with a meaningful channel component, and includes services and renewals compensation models.

This Senior Leader ensures compensation programs are accurate, scalable, transparent, and financially disciplined at a global level, with a strong emphasis on automation, advanced analytics, and AI to improve payout accuracy, forecast performance, and manage cost of sales across regions. The Senior Leader reports into the FP&A;, and serves as a strategic partner to global Sales, HR, Legal, and IT, and ensures the Sales Compensation function is viewed worldwide as a trusted strategic business partner.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Compensation Strategy & Plan Design

· Work with Sales Leadership on the sales compensation strategy for direct sales, services, renewals, and channel roles,



ensuring alignment with revenue growth, product mix, margin objectives, and customer outcomes.

· Lead annual and in-year planning cycles including quota methodologies, incentive design, and scenario modeling.

· Establish analytics and metrics to measure plan effectiveness.

Operational Excellence & Governance

· Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payouts. Establish and maintain strong governance, internal controls, auditability, and SOX-compliant processes.

· Lead preparation and presentation of material at the quarterly Sales Compensation Governance Board.

· Continuously improves processes to support scale, organizational change, and evolving sales models.

Forecasting, Cost Management & Analytics

· Provide forward-looking insights on attainment, payout exposure, and cost of sales, identifying risks and opportunities early. Use modeling, predictive analytics, and AI-enabled insights to improve forecast

· Leverage dashboards, self-service reporting, and AI-driven insights to give Sales real-time visibility into performance, earnings, and attainment.

Sales Experience, Trust & Partnership

· Ensure compensation plans, calculations, and outcomes are clearly documented,



consistently communicated, and easy to understand.

· Actively gather and incorporate Sales feedback to improve processes and tools while maintaining strong governance and financial discipline.

Team Leadership

· Lead and develop a high-performing sales compensation team, setting clear standards for accuracy, accountability, and business partnership.

· Foster a culture of continuous improvement, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree required;

MBA or advanced degree preferred.

· 8–12+ years of experience in sales compensation, incentives, or commercial finance, including leadership experience with large, complex commission-eligible populations.

· Hardware, manufacturing, or technology industry experience is strongly preferred.

· Working experience in a compensation tool (Varicent and Anaplan a plus), SFDC/CRM and Power BI (or equivalent reporting tool)

· Strong collaboration, influencing and relationship building skills

· Deep analytical skills with experience modeling complex incentive plans and forecasting compensation expense.

· Clear, credible communicator interacting with both field sales and executives.

Pay Range: The annual pay range for this position is CAD $ 116,300 – $150,000.
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Pay ranges at Ciena are designed to accommodate variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions, and locations, reflecting our diverse products, industries, and lines of business. Please not

📌 Senior Leader, Sales Compensation (Ottawa)
🏢 Ciena
📍 Ottawa