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

• On-site at an Alpha campus in Austin, TX or Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ — relocation assistance available
• $150,000/year
• Full-time

Traditional elementary schools reduce expectations when students face challenges. You do the opposite. You recognize that a six-year-old can accomplish far more than conventional classrooms demand, and you have validated this belief with data multiple times.

Alpha operates on a two-hour learning framework. Morning academic instruction is delivered through adaptive applications, freeing your schedule for the high-impact work that transforms children's lives: building motivation, teaching life skills, providing coaching, and establishing accountability.

You directly oversee a cohort of K-3 students while simultaneously coaching the Guides (Alpha's designation for the adults who mentor and motivate students) who manage their day-to-day development. You remain actively engaged each day rather than directing operations from a remote office.

A typical day involves three core activities. You analyze performance metrics and Coachbot analytics to identify which students and Guides require intervention. You conduct coaching sessions that equip people with concrete action steps rather than general encouragement. And you lead workshops for groups of five- to nine-year-olds on topics such as public speaking, concentration, or constructive feedback.

Your successful practices are documented as you identify them. The playbooks you develop set the benchmark that all other Guides implement, expanding your influence from a single cohort to the entire level. Demonstrating your ability to replicate this excellence determines your path to expanded leadership responsibilities.

If reducing standards seems compassionate to you, this role is not appropriate. If elevating them represents respect, you should apply.

What You Will Be Doing

• Coaching both Guides and students through performance data analysis, classroom observation, and direct feedback, while maintaining accountability to quantifiable objectives
• Leading one-hour live workshops for K-3 students covering life skills including public speaking, concentration, teamwork, persistence, accountability, and constructive feedback
• Conducting individual and small-group motivation sessions that align each child's aspirations and interests with tangible academic advancement
• Developing and iterating on playbooks that convert your most effective techniques into systematic approaches other Guides can apply reliably
• Training Guides on these playbooks and demonstrating excellence in facilitation to preserve standards as the team expands

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Providing academic instruction or traditional lecturing; adaptive applications handle content delivery while you focus on coaching people
• Reducing expectations when students encounter difficulties
• Managing from a distance in the manner of instructional coaches and principals; you remain embedded with your cohort every day
• Managing the entire campus budget, operations, and parent communications; a Campus Lead handles those responsibilities so you can concentrate on student and Guide results
• Advocating for traditional teaching approaches or implementing a standard K-12 curriculum

Program Manager Key Responsibilities

Fulfill Alpha's three commitments to every K-3 student: they enjoy school, achieve learning at twice the typical rate, and develop outstanding life skills and self-sufficiency.

Basic Requirements

• Available to work on-site at an Alpha campus in Austin, TX or Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ; relocation assistance is provided
• Bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, Business, Organizational Leadership, Child Development, or a related field
• Minimum 5 years of experience working with elementary-aged children (approximately ages 5 to 9)
• Experience managing a team of 5 or more individuals, with responsibility for hiring and performance-based removal decisions
• Experience creating, launching, or substantially expanding a program, team, school, or initiative from inception, rather than managing an established entity
• Comfortable working in an educational environment that rejects conventional teaching methods
• Legal authorization to work in the United States

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Master's degree in a related field
• Demonstrated history using metrics, dashboards, or analytics to identify issues and produce measurable progress
• Experience coaching or supervising other adults to achieve quantifiable outcomes, beyond individual contributor work
• Background in youth development, camp leadership, competitive coaching, tutoring, or enrichment programs where motivation was a primary focus
• Confidence and ability facilitating or presenting to groups 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. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!

Working with us

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $75 USD/hour, which equates to $150,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly.

Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5150-US-Scottsda-ProgramManager.005