Youth Development Specialist, Alpha - $120,000/year USD

Crossover; Santa Barbara (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Day-one benefits

Relocation support

Job summary

Alpha is hiring a Youth Development Specialist to lead high-energy life skills workshops for K-8 students, coaching them to develop communication, resilience, leadership, and focus. You’ll use Coachbot analytics to tailor support and measure progress, guiding students toward ambitious weekly goals.

The role emphasizes in-person coaching, adaptive strategies across ages, and data-driven improvement to help students achieve real, demonstrable growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required. Three years of direct K-8 experience preferred.
• Ability to motivate students to achieve challenging goals with a clear outcome.
• Experience coaching and leading youth programs or camps is valued.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-energy life skills workshops for elementary and middle school students.
• Coach students individually and in groups using Coachbot analytics and motivation systems.
• Assess life-skill mastery with Test2Pass and provide targeted coaching until mastery.
• Adapt coaching style to different ages and needs, from kindergartners to eighth graders.
• Analyze weekly performance data to remove obstacles and improve outcomes.

Skills

Coaching

Public speaking

Leadership

Communication

Focus

Education

Bachelor's degree

3 years K-8 experience

Tools

Coachbot analytics

Job description

"All of my students came back in the top 1% for growth and achievement on their MAP scores."
- Sam DePalo, Lead Guide, Alpha Fort Worth Texas

Alpha is hiring.

• $120,000/year W2 salary, paid weekly, plus day-one medical, dental, and vision benefits
• On-site at an Alpha campus in Bethesda, MD; Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Greenwich, CT; Kirkland or Seattle, WA; Malibu, CA; Miami, FL; Miami Beach, FL; New York City, NY; Palm Beach, FL; San Francisco, CA; or Santa Barbara, CA (relocation support provided).

Most schools ask students to meet expectations. You'll teach them to exceed their own. You know confidence isn't built through praise. It's built by helping someone accomplish something they once thought was impossible.

Alpha has rebuilt school around a simple idea: AI is better at delivering academics, and exceptional humans are better at changing lives. Students complete core academics through adaptive AI-powered learning apps. Your job is to develop everything technology can't—discipline, resilience, communication, ownership, focus, and the belief that difficult things are worth doing. You won't spend your day delivering lessons or grading papers. You'll spend it coaching students through challenges, celebrating real progress, and helping them achieve goals they never thought they could reach.

About 60% of your week is spent leading energetic, one-hour life skills workshops on topics like public speaking, focus, leadership, and giving and receiving feedback. Around 30% is spent coaching students one-on-one or in small groups using Coachbot analytics to identify who needs encouragement, accountability, or a different approach. The remaining 10% is reviewing data, refining your coaching strategies, and preparing students for an even stronger week ahead. You'll start with proven workshop frameworks, then improve and expand them as you discover better ways to inspire students.

Success is objective. At least 90% of your students should consistently hit their weekly academic goals, demonstrate mastery of Alpha's life skills through Test2Pass assessments, and rate their experience with you at least 4 out of 5. Meet that standard consistently and you'll have a clear path to Lead Guide, coaching other Guides, and eventually Campus Lead, where you'll shape the culture and performance of an entire school.

This role isn't for people who want to lecture, follow a curriculum, or simply keep students busy. It's for coaches, mentors, youth leaders, performers, tutors, and educators who measure success by what their students become.

What You Will Be Doing

• Running high-energy, one-hour life skills workshops for K-8 students, developing communication, resilience, focus, leadership, and other durable skills while continuously improving the workshop experience.
• Coaching students individually and in small groups using Coachbot analytics, personalized accountability, and Alpha's motivation systems to help every student achieve ambitious weekly goals.
• Assessing life skill mastery through Test2Pass and providing targeted coaching until every student demonstrates genuine competence, not just participation.
• Adapting your coaching style across elementary and middle school students, knowing when a kindergartner needs movement and encouragement and when an eighth grader needs direct accountability.
• Analyzing weekly student performance data to identify patterns, remove obstacles, and continually improve outcomes for your entire cohort.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Delivering traditional classroom instruction. AI handles academic teaching so you can focus on developing students.
• Grading homework, creating lesson plans, or preparing students for standardized tests.
• Watching students work silently on computers. Every day is active, interactive, and centered on coaching.
• Waiting for approvals before helping a struggling student. You have the autonomy to act quickly and do what's needed.
• Managing parent communication or administrative paperwork. Campus Leads own parent relationships so you can focus on students.

Youth Development Specialist Key Responsibilities

Build a cohort of students who consistently achieve ambitious academic goals, master essential life skills, and develop the confidence, resilience, and ownership to succeed long after they leave Alpha.

Basic Requirements

• Willing to work in person at an Alpha campus in Bethesda, MD; Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Greenwich, CT; Kirkland or Seattle, WA; Malibu, CA; Miami, FL; Miami Beach, FL; New York City, NY; Palm Beach, FL; San Francisco, CA; or Santa Barbara, CA (relocation support provided)
• Bachelor's degree in any discipline
• At least 3 years of experience working directly with K-8 students through teaching, coaching, tutoring, mentoring, camp leadership, or youth programs
• Ability to describe a specific example of motivating a student to achieve a difficult goal, including your approach and the outcome
• Excited to let AI deliver academics while you focus on coaching, motivation, and life skills development
• Authorized to work in the United States without current or future visa sponsorship

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Experience coaching youth sports, debate, theater, camps, after‑school programs, or other performance-based activities
• Personal record of high achievement in academics, athletics, leadership, or another competitive field
• Strong stage presence and storytelling skills that can keep a room full of students engaged without relying on volume or discipline
• Demonstrated success helping disengaged, resistant, or struggling students become motivated, confident learners

About Alpha

Join the team building school around student growth

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. We look forward to meeting you!

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 $120,000 USD/year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.