Director, GTM Operations

Job Description

About the Role:

We are seeking a Director of GTM Operations to lead two critical pillars of our go-to-market organization: Compensation Operations and Strategic Business Operations. This individual will be instrumental in operationalizing GTM strategy, optimizing performance, and driving alignment across Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Finance.

You’ll partner with senior leaders to design and execute scalable, data-driven operating models while ensuring excellence in compensation planning, execution, and governance. This role requires both a strategic mindset and strong executional horsepower.

Key Responsibilities:Compensation Operations (Sales, CS, & GTM Teams)

• Lead end-to-end compensation operations, including:

• • Annual planning and design support

  • Quota deployment and attainment tracking

  • Territory mapping and assignments

  • Monthly/quarterly payout processing

• Drive compensation tooling and process automation

• Establish compensation governance frameworks, audit trails, and compliance processes and policies.

• Partner with Sales Leadership, HR, and Finance to ensure comp plans align with GTM strategy and company goals.

• Serve as subject-matter expert on incentive comp design, dispute resolution, and change management.

Strategic Business Operations

As a leader in Business Operations, you will drive operational rhythm, performance optimization, and cross-functional alignment across the GTM org.

• Co-lead annual GTM planning, including headcount strategy, capacity modeling, segmentation, territory design, and budget alignment.

• Lead large-scale strategic initiatives, such as:

• • Territory realignment

  • Market expansion

  • GTM process redesign

• Drive alignment across Sales, Marketing, CS, Product, and Finance to ensure cohesive execution.

• Act as a program owner for key cross-functional initiatives with clear milestones, owners, and outcomes.

• Own the documentation and communication of standard operating procedures across teams.

• Identify and eliminate operational bottlenecks; proactively propose scalable solutions.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as a thought partner and trusted advisor to GTM leaders.

• Lead a small team or project-based workstreams

• Create a culture of accountability, data-driven decision making, and operational excellence.

Qualifications:

• 8–12+ years of experience in GTM Operations, Business Operations, Sales Strategy, or Revenue Operations.

• Deep expertise in Sales/GTM Compensation Operations.

• Strong experience in business planning, forecasting, reporting, and process design.

• Exceptional analytical skills; comfortable working with financial models, BI tools, and large datasets.

• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional projects with executive visibility.

• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to influence across levels and functions.

• Familiarity with sales motion models (enterprise, PLG, channel) is a plus.

• Tools experience preferred: Salesforce, Xactly, Looker/Tableau, Clari, Excel/Google Sheets.

What You’ll Bring:

• A strategic mindset with the ability to zoom in and out between tactical execution and long-term vision.

• Strong operational intuition — you know what good looks like and how to build it.

• Confidence in leading through ambiguity and scaling operations in high-growth or evolving environments.

• A collaborative, low-ego approach to problem solving.

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $170,000.00-$256,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with your specific accommodation request.