Community Engagement Manager, Founders School - $150,000/year USD

If you naturally fill the room, remember every name, and maintain relationships months later, this role is worth your attention.

Alpha is reimagining what school can be. Students complete core academics in just two hours daily using AI-powered learning, then dedicate the remainder of their time to building essential skills: critical thinking, communication, entrepreneurship, and real-world execution. Families select Alpha not through marketing exposure, but because they encounter something unavailable elsewhere. This position exists to create that encounter.

You'll build and expand the community that attracts exceptional families to Alpha and helps them confidently select us over every other school under consideration. You'll own the relational dimension of admissions, from a family's first event through enrollment, crafting memorable experiences that establish trust well before any decision is reached. You'll orchestrate events, cultivate relationships, personally guide prospective families, and convert accepted students into enrolled students. This role suits someone who has built authentic communities previously, thrives among people, and recognizes that relationships drive consequential decisions. You'll collaborate closely with the Director of Admissions, Heads of School, and Admissions Associate while helping establish the playbook that will inform Alpha's future expansion.

If you've built communities people genuinely wanted to join and you're energized by the prospect of helping transform education, we'd welcome your application.

What You Will Be Doing

• Design and deliver high-impact community events, including information sessions, parent dinners, campus tours, school fairs, accepted-family gatherings, and partner meetups.
• Cultivate meaningful relationships with prospective families, shepherding them from initial interest through application and sustaining consistent, high-touch communication.
• Own enrollment yield for the high school by designing experiences and follow-up strategies that convert accepted families into enrolled families.
• Develop and activate a vibrant community of current parents, prospective families, and ambassadors who enhance Alpha's reputation and referral network.
• Maintain precise CRM records and collaborate closely with the Admissions Associate and school leadership to ensure every family receives a seamless experience.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Employing high-pressure sales tactics or persuading families who are not a strong fit.
• Managing application processing, interview scheduling, or admissions decisions.
• Creating marketing strategy or brand messaging from scratch.
• Managing a team instead of personally cultivating relationships and executing events.
• Working remotely. Community is built face-to-face.

Community Engagement Manager Key Responsibilities

Build a thriving community that reliably attracts exceptional families and converts accepted students into enrolled students, generating predictable admissions growth for Alpha.

Basic Requirements

• Proven experience building and growing an in-person community from the ground up.
• Demonstrated success planning and executing events from concept through follow-up.
• Experience selling or influencing thoughtful, high-consideration buyers through relationship building rather than transactional sales.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to connect authentically with sophisticated families.
• Strong organizational skills with disciplined CRM usage and consistent follow-through.
• Self-directed, resourceful, and comfortable creating structure where none exists.
• Passion for Alpha's mission and belief that AI is transforming the future of education.
• Based in New York City or willing to relocate.
• Authorized to work in the United States

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Experience in private school admissions, alumni relations, nonprofit fundraising, hospitality, or experiential events.
• An established network within the NYC education or parent community.
• An engaged social media or content presence that has translated into real-world community building.

About Founders School

Founders School is a four-year high school built for ambitious students who want to create, build, and solve meaningful problems. The program combines Alpha School's elite academics, real-world experience, and mentorship from world-class entrepreneurs around three commitments to every student: Build a million-dollar business. Identify problems in the world worth solving. Master AI before adults do.

This is a place for people who'd rather build the thing than manage the thing. We're hiring the founding team that builds the dream high school for the most entrepreneurial and ambitious students in the country. Launching in NYC Fall 2026.

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 for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5835-US-Paterson-CommunityEngag