Vice President, Express NEXT

Express Employment International; Oklahoma City (OK); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Express Employment International seeks a Vice President, Express Next, to lead the future-focused strategy, innovation, and business evolution. Based at our Oklahoma City headquarters, you will partner with the SVP to shape opportunities, mobilize cross-functional teams, and translate insights into disciplined experiments and validated concepts for long-term operating ownership.

You will oversee a portfolio of Horizon 2 and Horizon 3 initiatives, coordinate with franchisees and external

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in strategy, innovation, technology, operations, transformation, or related field.
• Experience leading cross-functional work from concept through evidence, decision, and implementation readiness.

Responsibilities

• Identify, frame, and prioritize emerging risks and future growth opportunities.
• Manage Horizon 2 and Horizon 3 opportunity portfolio balancing value, uncertainty, feasibility, and resources.
• Translate priority opportunities into focused research, experiments, pilots, partnerships, and incubation plans.
• Develop hypotheses, success criteria, and decision boundaries for experiments and pilots.
• Provide concise, decision-ready portfolio updates and recommendations to senior leadership.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Portfolio management

Cross-functional leadership

Executive communication

Financial acumen

Technology & AI fluency

Influence without authority

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Job Location: Corporate Headquarters - Oklahoma City, OK 73162. Sitting within the corporate office of Express Employment International, and reporting to the Senior Vice President of Global Development, the Vice President, Express Next serves as the primary execution and integration leader for Express Next, the company’s future-focused strategy, innovation, and business evolution function. The Vice President partners with the SVP of Global Development to identify and shape consequential Horizon 2 and Horizon 3 opportunities and translate them into disciplined exploration, experimentation, evidence, and decision-ready recommendations. Working across Express, the franchise network, and selected external partners, the Vice President mobilizes the expertise required to test critical assumptions, focus resources on the strongest opportunities, stop unsupported ideas early, and prepare validated concepts for long-term operating ownership.

ABOUT EXPRESS NEXT

Express Next exists to anticipate future opportunities and mitigate potential threats so Express can remain built to last. Focused primarily on Horizon 2 and Horizon 3, Express Next looks beyond the immediate demands of today’s business to explore the opportunities, threats, technologies, markets, operating models, and business models that could shape Express over the next 3-10 years and beyond.

Express Next combines strategic exploration with disciplined, real-world experimentation. Express Next converts uncertainty into evidence, invests progressively, stops weak ideas early, builds with future owners, and brings leadership decision-ready recommendations.

Express Employment International values the benefits of in-person collaboration in fostering teamwork, creativity, and connection. Employees in this position who are located within the Oklahoma City metropolitan market are expected to work in the office four (4) days per week, with the flexibility to work remotely one (1) day per week, based on business and department needs. For candidates located outside the Oklahoma City metropolitan market, remote work may be considered within the continental 48 states, based on business and department needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Partner with the SVP of Global Development to identify, frame, and prioritize emerging risks, future growth opportunities, and strategic questions that could materially affect Express
• Manage the active Horizon 2 and Horizon 3 opportunity portfolio, balancing strategic importance, potential enterprise value, uncertainty, feasibility, resource requirements, and Express’s right to win
• Translate priority opportunities into focused research, discovery, experiments, pilots, partnerships, and incubation plans designed to address the most important unknowns
• Establish clear hypotheses, success and failure criteria, time boundaries, resource requirements, and intended decisions for experiments and pilots
• Evaluate evidence and prepare clear recommendations to Advance, Modify, Hold, or Stop an opportunity
• Mobilize expertise across Operations, Technology and AI, Finance, Legal, Business Intelligence, Marketing, International operations, franchisees, and external partners as needed
• Partner with willing franchisees and operating leaders to test new services, technologies, markets, operating models, customer experiences, and workforce solutions
• Develop the economics, capabilities, technology, controls, resources, and implementation approach needed to determine whether a validated concept can scale
• Engage the likely long-term operating owner as confidence grows and transition validated initiatives into the appropriate organization for implementation and scale
• Monitor external developments in technology, AI, workforce trends, regulation, competition, demographics, markets, and emerging business models and connect relevant signals to Express’s long-term needs
• Build relationships with external experts, technology providers, startups, potential partners, and other sources of insight that can accelerate learning and opportunity development
• Provide senior leadership with concise, timely, decision-ready portfolio updates and recommendations
• Promote disciplined investment by ensuring resources follow evidence and by treating the early termination of unsupported ideas as a successful outcome
• Perform other duties as assigned

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience required; advanced degree preferred
• At least ten (10) years of progressive leadership experience in strategy, innovation, technology, operations, transformation, new ventures, consulting, or a related field
• Demonstrated success leading complex cross-functional work from strategic concept through evidence, decision, and implementation readiness
• Experience developing pilots, products, services, capabilities, partnerships, ventures, investment cases, or new business models
• Experience in staffing, workforce solutions, franchising, technology, international markets, or multi-unit business models is beneficial

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, OR ABILITIES

• Exceptional strategic, commercial, and organizational judgment
• Strong execution, portfolio management, integration, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to turn ambiguity into focused action and complex ideas into clear recommendations
• Ability to influence senior leaders and mobilize cross-functional teams without relying on formal authority
• Strong financial acumen and ability to evaluate opportunity economics, investment requirements, and potential enterprise value
• Fluency in technology, data, AI, emerging business models, and their strategic implications
• Excellent verbal, written, executive communication, and presentation skills
• Intellectual curiosity and willingness to challenge assumptions constructively and responsibly
• Ability to build productive relationships across corporate functions, franchisees, operating teams, and external partners
• Availability to travel as needed
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software

At Express, we celebrate what makes you, you. We value diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents—because we know that’s what makes us stronger together. If you’re excited about the role, we’re excited to hear from you.

Express Employment International supports Express Employment Professionals franchises and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with more than 870 franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, our corporate team is committed to empowering franchisees by providing world-class support, training, and strategic guidance through a unified global network.

Our mission is to professionally market and provide quality human resource solutions through an international franchising network—benefiting our associates, clients, franchisees, corporate staff, shareholders, and the communities we serve.

Our vision is simple yet powerful: To help as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people.