Youth Development Specialist $120,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Youth Development Specialist $120,000 USD/year
Description
- $120,000/year W2 salary, paid weekly; health, dental, and vision benefits begin day one
- On-site position at an Alpha K-8 campus in Beverly Hills, CA; La Jolla (San Diego), CA; Palo Alto, CA; Piedmont, CA; South Bay (LA), CA; Greenwich, CT; Boca Raton, FL; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Miami, FL; Miami Beach, FL; Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Chicago, IL; Raleigh, NC; Portland, OR; or Seattle, WA (relocation assistance available)
This is not a teaching position. This is motivation work.
If a student reaches 99% of their goal and you feel pressure to call it complete, this role is not for you. If that same scenario energizes you—because maintaining the standard is how you demonstrate belief in what a student can achieve—then continue reading.
Alpha students complete their academic work through AI-powered applications. No classroom lectures. No traditional textbooks. Approximately 60% of your time will be spent facilitating one-hour life-skills workshops covering topics like public speaking, focus, and constructive feedback. Around 30% of your week involves sitting with students individually or in small groups, analyzing their progress via Coachbot analytics, and driving each one toward their weekly app targets. The remaining 10% is dedicated to data analysis that informs your coaching strategy for the week ahead. You will not be reading from a script; workshops provide a foundation, and the most effective Guides modify them and create new sessions when they identify unmet needs.
A successful semester means at least 90% of students in your cohort reach their weekly app goals, demonstrate measurable life-skill improvement on Test2Pass, and rate their experience with you at 4/5 or higher. Falling short on any of these three metrics means the role is not being fulfilled. As you demonstrate your ability to maintain high standards, advancement opportunities open to Lead Guide—where you mentor newer Guides while continuing to run a cohort—and eventually to Campus Lead, where you manage an entire school and own relationships with parents.
If you prefer traditional teaching methods, need a pre-packaged curriculum, or view warmth and rigor as incompatible, this position is not the right fit. If your background includes athletic coaching, camp counseling, tutoring where you refused to let students give up, or performance work that enabled you to command the attention of 12-year-olds, the final stage before receiving an offer is a full day on campus coaching actual Alpha students. If that prospect excites you most, submit your application today.
What you will be doing
- Facilitating one-hour life-skills workshops for K-8 cohorts covering public speaking, focus, feedback exchange, and other transferable skills, modifying the existing playbook and creating new sessions when you identify a need
- Conducting daily 1:1 and small-group motivation sessions that drive every student toward their weekly app targets, leveraging Coachbot analytics, Alpha's incentive structures (school currency, leaderboards), and your individual relationships to overcome resistance
- Administering Test2Pass (Alpha's mastery-based assessment) for each life skill, and continuing to coach students who do not pass until they achieve mastery
- Adjusting your coaching approach across a broad age spectrum, from kindergarteners requiring high energy and physical activity to 8th graders needing direct conversation and accountability
- Analyzing weekly cohort performance data in Coachbot, identifying students falling behind, and modifying your coaching tactics for the next week based on what the data reveals
What you will NOT be doing
- Delivering lectures at a whiteboard; academic instruction is embedded in the apps, not delivered by you
- Creating an entire curriculum from scratch; you begin with an established playbook and customize it with your own energy and narrative style
- Passively monitoring students at computers; motivation in this role is active, personal, and persistent
- Working through bureaucratic approval processes to secure resources for students in need; if a student requires additional coaching time, you decide and implement the same day
- Grading assignments, conducting standardized test preparation, or managing parent communications; Campus Leads handle parent-facing responsibilities, and the other tasks do not exist in this model
Key responsibilities
Ensure every student in your K-8 cohort achieves their weekly learning targets, masters each life skill, and finishes the year saying they loved you.
Candidate requirements
- Willing to work in-person at an Alpha campus in Beverly Hills, CA; La Jolla (San Diego), CA; Palo Alto, CA; Piedmont, CA; South Bay (LA), CA; Greenwich, CT; Boca Raton, FL; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Miami, FL; Miami Beach, FL; Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Chicago, IL; Raleigh, NC; Portland, OR; or Seattle, WA (relocation assistance available)
- Bachelor's degree in any subject
- At least 3 years working directly with K-8 students (classroom teaching, coaching, tutoring, camp counseling, or youth program leadership)
- A specific example you can describe of motivating a K-8 student to a hard goal: the goal, what you did, and the outcome
- Willingness to let AI handle the instructional content while you focus on motivation and life-skills coaching
- Legal right to work in the US without visa sponsorship
Nice to have
- Experience in youth athletics coaching, debate, camp leadership, drama, or after-school programs where you held direct responsibility for motivating kids toward specific goals
- Personal history of high achievement (academic, athletic, or professional), such that holding others to a rigorous standard is a consistent pattern, not an adopted posture
- Storytelling ability and stage presence sufficient to hold the attention of a room of 12-year-olds for an hour without needing to raise your voice
- Track record of converting disengaged or resistant students into active participants
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