Looking for Head of / Team Lead Sales Planning & Performance jobs? This senior leadership role sits at the strategic heart of a company's commercial engine, bridging the gap between high-level sales ambition and ground-level execution. Professionals in this discipline are the architects of sales effectiveness, responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing the systems, processes, and insights that empower a sales organization to scale intelligently and hit its targets. It is a hybrid role demanding equal parts strategic vision, analytical rigor, and operational prowess. Typically, individuals in these jobs own the entire sales planning and performance lifecycle. Core responsibilities include leading the annual and quarterly sales forecasting, planning, and quota-setting processes. They establish and manage the key performance indicator (KPI) framework, providing data-driven visibility into sales funnel health, rep productivity, and market performance. A significant part of the role involves designing and optimizing sales incentive schemes and compensation plans to motivate behaviors that align with business objectives. Furthermore, they are charged with standardizing and automating sales processes and workflows to drive efficiency and enable reps to focus on selling. Beyond the numbers, a Head of Sales Planning & Performance shapes the go-to-market (GTM) strategy. This can involve defining value propositions, leading territory design, and developing market intelligence models. They often own the sales technology stack roadmap, evaluating, implementing, and driving adoption of CRM enhancements, analytics platforms, and increasingly, AI-powered sales tools to gain a competitive edge. Crucially, this role is inherently cross-functional; it requires constant partnership with senior leadership in Sales, Finance, Business Analytics, Marketing, and Product to ensure commercial strategies are cohesive, resourced, and effectively rolled out. The typical profile for these leadership jobs includes 5-10 years of experience in sales strategy & operations, business operations, management consulting, or GTM roles, often within B2B environments like SaaS, technology, or complex sales-led models. Required skills are a blend of advanced analytical capabilities for performance analytics and forecasting, a deep understanding of sales methodologies and funnel dynamics, and proven experience in process optimization and sales tool implementation. Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills are non-negotiable, as the role demands the ability to influence VPs and department heads, translate data into compelling narratives, and drive change across the organization. For those who thrive on turning strategy into measurable results, Head of Sales Planning & Performance jobs offer a critical and high-impact career path at the intersection of data, strategy, and sales leadership.
