Program Director, Alpha - $150,000/year USD

Crossover; Lake Forest (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Job summary

Alpha is seeking a Program Director to lead a cohort of K-3 students and coach Guides responsible for their daily progress. You will stay hands-on daily, using performance data to drive outcomes, and scale effective practices across the campus.

You will run workshops on life skills, motivate students, and build repeatable playbooks. Your leadership will shape a growing program in a fast-paced educational environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, Business, Organizational Leadership, Child Development, or related field.
• At least 5 years working with elementary-aged children.
• Experience leading a team of 5+ people with authority to hire/remove based on performance.

Responsibilities

• Coach Guides and students using performance data, classroom observation, and direct feedback, then holding both accountable to measurable goals.
• Facilitate one-hour live workshops for K-3 students on life skills such as public speaking, focus, collaboration, resilience, accountability, and feedback.
• Run motivation sessions that connect each child's goals to real academic progress.
• Build and refine playbooks that translate best practices into repeatable systems for others to execute.
• Train Guides on playbooks and model excellence as the team grows.

Skills

Team leadership

Public speaking

Coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, Business, Organizational Leadership, Child Development, or related field

Job description

"We are never going to lower the standard for any kid — instead we're going to raise the support to help them get there."

— Braden, Head Guide, Alpha Austin

Alpha is hiring.

• In person at the Alpha campus in Austin, TX or Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ — relocation support provided


• $150,000/year


• Full-time

Most elementary schools lower the bar when a child struggles. You raise it. You believe a six‑year‑old is capable of far more than a traditional classroom ever asks of them, and you have used data to prove it more than once.

Alpha runs on a two-hour learning model. Adaptive apps teach academics in the morning, which clears your day for the work that actually changes a child's life: motivation, life skills, coaching, and accountability. You personally own a cohort of K‑3 students while coaching the Guides (Alpha's term for the adults who coach and inspire the kids) responsible for their daily progress. You stay hands‑on every day, not managing from an office down the hall.

A normal day moves between three things. You read performance data and Coachbot analytics to find which students and Guides are off track. You run coaching conversations that send people away with a specific next step instead of vague encouragement. And you hold the attention of a room full of five‑to‑nine‑year‑olds through a workshop on public speaking, focus, or giving and receiving feedback.

As you discover what works, you write it down. The playbooks you build become the standard every other Guide follows, so your impact grows from one cohort to the whole level. Proving you can scale that excellence is how you grow into bigger leadership here.

If lowering expectations feels like kindness to you, this is the wrong job. If raising them feels like respect, apply.

What You Will Be Doing

• Coaching Guides and students using performance data, classroom observation, and direct feedback, then holding both accountable to measurable goals


• Facilitating one-hour live workshops for K‑3 students on life skills such as public speaking, focus, collaboration, resilience, accountability, and giving and receiving feedback


• Running individual and small‑group motivation sessions that connect each child's goals and interests to real academic progress


• Building and refining playbooks that turn your best practices into repeatable systems other Guides can execute consistently


• Training Guides on those playbooks and modeling excellence in facilitation so standards hold as the team grows

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Delivering academic instruction or lecturing from the front of the room; adaptive apps teach the content while you coach the humans


• Lowering expectations when a student struggles


• Supervising from a distance the way instructional coaches and principals do; you stay embedded with your own cohort daily


• Owning the entire campus's budget, operations, and parent relationships; a Campus Lead carries that so you can stay focused on student and Guide outcomes


• Defending traditional teaching methods or following a conventional K‑12 curriculum

Program Director Key Responsibilities

Deliver Alpha's three promises to every K‑3 student: they love school, learn twice as fast, and build exceptional life skills and independence.

Basic Requirements

• Willing to work in person at the Alpha campus in Austin, TX or Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ; relocation support is provided


• Bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, Business, Organizational Leadership, Child Development, or a related field


• At least 5 years working with elementary‑aged children (roughly ages 5 to 9)


• Experience leading a team of 5 or more people, including authority to hire and to remove people based on performance outcomes


• Experience building, launching, or significantly growing a program, team, school, or initiative from the ground up, not inheriting an existing one


• Comfortable working in a school that rejects traditional teaching methods


• Legally authorized to work in the United States

Nice‑to‑have Requirements

• Master's degree in a related field


• Track record using metrics, dashboards, or analytics to diagnose problems and drive measurable improvement


• Experience coaching or managing other adults toward measurable outcomes, not just doing the work yourself


• Background in youth development, camp leadership, competitive coaching, tutoring, or enrichment where motivation was central


• Comfort and skill facilitating or public speaking in front of rooms full of young children

About Alpha

Join the team building school around student growth

Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and more time for students to build real‑world skills.

Roles with real student impact:

Alpha hires teachers (guides), operators, admissions experts, school & curriculum leaders, and remote team members.

Education work that pays like it matters:

Alpha offers six‑figure roles for people ready to help build a radically better school experience.

A culture built for builders:

Alpha is fast‑moving, ambitious, and student focused. It’s for people who want to improve the system, not maintain it.

Alpha is where you can do the most meaningful work of your career.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited.

Working with us

This is a full-time, W2 employee position with immediate access to benefits (https://support.crossover.com/article/7581-w2-benefits-u-s-paychex-paid-only). All roles are year‑long positions. The compensation level for this role is $150,000 USD/year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.