Appa Health - Peer Mentor for Teens (Remote, CA-based)
Appa Health - Peer Mentor for Teens (Remote, CA-based)
Remote | Hourly | Part-Time | California Applicants Only | Bilingual Spanish Preferred |
Harness Your Experience to Empower the Next Generation
At Appa Health, we believe that lived experience is expertise. If you’re passionate about giving back to your community and inspiring teens to grow, we invite you to join our team as a near-peer mentor. You’ll have the chance to make a lasting impact on the lives of high school students by supporting them with your unique insights and experiences.
Who We’re Looking For:
We’re hiring near-peer mentors based in California, with a strong preference for Spanish-speaking mentors and those interested in pursuing (or already holding) Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) credentials.
We’re looking for mentors who bring empathy, curiosity, and a deep commitment to supporting teens - whether through lived experience, professional background, or both.
About the Role
As an Appa Mentor, you’ll build meaningful relationships with teens aged 12–19, helping them develop critical life skills and emotional tools. Your shared lived experience becomes a bridge to connection and growth.
What You’ll Do:
- Build trust and offer weekly support via chat and 1:1 video sessions
- Lead conversations that promote resilience, confidence, and well-being
- Use Appa’s weekly content in ways that feel accessible and relevant to teens
- Help teens set and follow through on goals
- Respond to teens within 24 hours during the work week
- Participate in weekly consultation groups with other mentors for guidance, support, and skill-building
- Collaborate with the Appa team to strengthen our model and impact
Training & Certification
All mentors receive comprehensive training in evidence-based support techniques to help teens build confidence, resilience, and social emotional tools. Training includes approaches such as motivational interviewing, goal setting, active listening, and crisis response — among other core skills that support meaningful, strengths-based mentorship.
Our mentorship model aligns closely with California’s Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) certification, a state-recognized credential through the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). This certification reinforces the very core of what we do: equipping teens with skills to thrive emotionally, mentally, and socially through trusted mentorship.
Ideal candidates will already be certified or eligible for certification as a CWC. If you do not yet hold this credential, Appa will support eligible candidates through the certification process. We are committed to building a team where all mentors are Certified Wellness Coaches, as this ensures we’re delivering the highest quality of support to the teens we serve — and investing in your professional development along the way.
Who You Are:
- Passionate about supporting and empowering youth
- Empathetic, open-minded, and respectful
- Skilled communicator, especially via video and messaging
- Organized, consistent, reliable
- Culturally humble and curious about others’ experiences
- Tech-savvy and familiar with online platforms used by teens
- Eager to learn and grow as part of a diverse, collaborative team
- Comfortable using structure and routines to support teens
- Able to manage boundaries while maintaining warmth and empathy
Minimum Qualifications:
- Identify as Gen Z or Millennial (our model is near-peer mentoring)
- Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Human Services, or related field
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills
- Reliable high-speed internet connection and access to a private space for video calls
- Ability to pass a comprehensive background check
Preferred Qualifications
- CWC Certification
- Bilingual (Spanish preferred)
Preference Given to Candidates with the Following Lived Experiences
Ideal candidates may identify with one or more of the following lived experiences:
- Belonging to BIPOC communities
- Navigating mental health or major life challenges
- LGBTQIA+ identity
- Experiences in foster care, homelessness/housing insecurity, or juvenile systems
- Growing up in under-resourced or rural communities
- Experience with substance use or recovery (personal or within family systems)
Time Commitment & Schedule
Part-time: 10–15 hours per week, depending on your caseload and onboarding phase. Note: In your first few weeks, hours may be lower as you complete orientation and begin receiving your initial teen matches.
How weekly hours generally break down:
- Up to ~1 hour per teen each week, typically split between messaging and a scheduled video session (time may vary based on teen engagement)
- 1-hour weekly consultation group with your mentor cohort
- Additional time for training, communication, and occasional team meetings
Actual weekly time may vary based on teen engagement. If a teen misses a scheduled session, mentors are compensated for a portion of that time.
Work hours:
Most direct teen support occurs between 3:00–8:00 PM Pacific, with flexibility to schedule within that window. Some responsibilities (training, team follow-ups, etc.) may occur outside these hours.
Tools and Environment You’ll Need
Because all mentoring happens online, we ask that mentors have:
- Strong internet connection that supports video
- A laptop or desktop (non-Chromebook preferred)
- A quiet, private space for teen video calls
- Comfort navigating messaging platforms, video conferencing tools, and digital forms
- This is a fully remote role, but mentors must reside in California to apply.
Compensation
- Part-time, contract (1099) position with competitive hourly pay.
- All required training hours are paid.
- Professional development opportunities, including support to become a Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) - a state-recognized certification that can strengthen your career and personal development.
- We value lived experience and invest in your growth as a mentor and professional.
How to Apply
If you’re excited to empower teens and bring your lived experience to a supportive team, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and help shape the future of mentorship with Appa.