Request for Proposals for
On‐Call Professional Recruitment Services
City of San Carlos
600 Elm Street
San Carlos, CA 94070
DATE ISSUED
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
PROPOSALS DUE
Friday, December 15, 2023
NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM
I. Introduction
The City of San Carlos is seeking proposals for services from qualified and experienced professional
search firms to provide on‐call recruitment services in order to expedite the hiring process for
executive and professional level full‐time position vacancies. The intent of this request for proposals
(RFP) is to partner with one or more recruiting firms to provide high quality service, delivering highly
qualified candidates for the City to consider at a competitive cost per recruitment.
Each year, the City may experience vacancies in Department Director, other key executive positions,
or other hard to fill professional positions within these areas due to retirement, resignation to
accept other career opportunities, or creation of new positions based on Department assessments
or organizational needs. The RFP is intended to allow the City the opportunity to evaluate the cost
to engage professional recruiting firms on an on‐call basis to locate and recruit qualified and
talented candidates on its behalf.
Overview of the City
The City of San Carlos is a full‐service, general law city, governed by a council‐manager form of
government. The City employs approximately 101 full‐time employees. Incorporated in June 1925,
San Carlos has a population of about 30,000. Encompassing approximately 5 square miles, San
Carlos is situated 25 miles south of San Francisco, on the San Francisco Peninsula, in San Mateo
County.
The City utilizes a two‐year program‐based operating budget. The total budget for the Fiscal Year
2023‐24 is $124.9 million, with operations representing approximately $81.0 million and a capital
budget of $43.9 million. The Fiscal Year 2023‐24 General Fund’s appropriations of $61.9 million,
support the main operations of the City including Community Development, Planning and Building
Services, Parks and Recreation Services, Facilities Maintenance, and Public Works Engineering.
Sewer collection and treatment services are provided through a Joint Powers Authority. In July 2013,
the City contracted with a neighboring city, Redwood City for Fire and Emergency Services. In
September 2010, the City contracted with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office for Police Services.
Library services at the San Carlos Library are staffed through a Joint Powers Authority. The City also
utilizes other shared or contract services such as park maintenance, code enforcement, and
dispatch services. The City of San Carlos does not provide water or trash collection services. Special
revenue funds include State and County Subventions, Gas Tax, Sewer Operations and Maintenance,
and Public Safety allocations from the State of California. Other revenue sources include State and
Federal grants for Capital Improvements.
II. SCOPE OF WORK
The successful consulting firm will be expected, at minimum, to perform the following:
Meet with the Administrative Services Director and/or staff as necessary to facilitate the
development of an appropriate candidate profile and list of priorities for the City.
Develop and execute an inclusive plan and timeline for each recruitment (print, web, social
media, targeted calls, etc.)
Identify specific strategies to encourage highly qualified applicants from diverse
backgrounds to apply.
Acknowledge receipt of candidates’ application materials and maintain communication with
all candidates throughout the recruitment process.
Answer questions from candidates and collect application materials.
Review the applications received, comparing them to the desired candidate profile.
Advise the hiring manager, Administrative Services Director, and/or staff on the
qualifications of the candidates, develop a list of recommended candidates for interviews,
provide a written report summarizing the overall candidate pool and the qualifications of
those selected to be interviewed.
Perform initial screening interviews with the most qualified candidates.
Advise the City on interview strategies, appropriate questions, and evaluation tools.
Attend the interview sessions for semi‐finalist candidates.
Assist the hiring manager in selection of finalists. (
Conduct complete background and reference checks on finalist candidates, including public
records searches and credit checks.
Prepare and present a confidential reference report on each finalist candidate.
Facilitate the final interview process and be available to assist the hiring manager as they
make a selection.
Maintain all correspondence and record‐keeping throughout the process.
Compile search documentation and prepare a final written summary of all work performed
and outreach taken related to developing, conducting, and completing the search.
III. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
A minimum of five years with experience in the professional recruiting field
A proven history of engagements of similar size and scope, with other government public
sector clients
IV. REQUIRED CONTENT OF PROPOSAL
General Requirements
All costs incurred in the preparation and presentation of this proposal shall be wholly absorbed by the
consultant.
Proposals shall contain the following:
A. A detailed timeline for the completion of all the services described in the Scope of Work.
B. Background information on the firm, including details of the firm’s experience with similar
recruitments; a brief resume of the individual(s) assigned to this project; contact information
for three (3) references; and sample work products including recruiting brochures, candidate
questionnaires, candidate reference reports, etc. The proposal should include information
about the firm’s current engagements and an affirmation of the firm’s ability to focus on this
project.
C. A proposed schedule for each phase of the process, including development of the recruitment
profile, search, background evaluations, interviews, and selection.
D. Information about the firm’s approach in the event a recruitment does not produce a viable
candidate or the premature dismissal or resignation of the selected candidate.
E. A list of any additional activities and/or techniques that might be helpful to incorporate into
the recruitment and selection process and the specific cost for adding such services.
RFP Check List
Please provide a completed RFP Checklist (Attachment 1). Please include the official name, address,
phone number, fax number, email address of the vendor, as well as the name of the principal contact
person and the name of the person authorized to execute the contract.
Proposed Cost of the Project
1. Provide a detailed project budget.
2. Budget will include all additional options, priced separately for any services that the City
might request outside the scope of the items in the RFP.
3. Any incidental expenses, such as copying, mailing, travel type charges must be clearly stated
in the proposal.
4. Prices quoted shall be firm and not subject to increases during the term of the contract that
the vendor and City may enter into as a result of the proposal.
Please confirm consultant’s ability to meet the minimum requirements. Please explain any exception
to the consultant’s ability to meet these minimum requirements.
V. EVALUATION CRITERIA
The Administrative Services Director and/or staff review team will evaluate all proposals received by
the submission deadline. The following will be considered in the selection of a vendor. The relative
importance of each factor is a management judgment and will include both objective and subjective
factors.
Prior successful recruitments.
Responsiveness to this Request for Proposal.
Qualifications and experience of the individuals assigned to the project.
Experience with candidates from within and outside California.
Schedule and availability.
Cost of services.
Reference contact results.
VI. GENERAL CONDITIONS
All proposals must conform to the requirements of this RFP and must be submitted according to
the outline set forth in Section II and Section III.
The City of San Carlos reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any defects in the
proposals received, and to select the consultant considered the most advantageous to the City.
Proposals received after the deadline and/or received unsigned shall be considered void and will
NOT be considered.
All proposals, responses, inquiries, correspondence, or other documents relating to this RFP will
become the property of the City when received. The City reserves the right to use any or all ideas
presented in any proposal, whether amended or not; selection or rejection of a proposal does not
affect this right.
VII. TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The selected consultant will be required to sign a contract with the City, the form and substance of
which must be acceptable to the City. The City most likely will not agree to execute the consultant’s
standard contract. Please see Attachment 3 for the City’s standard Professional Services Agreement.
All necessary insurance, City of San Carlos business license, and other documents will need to be
provided as required.
VIII. REQUESTED RESPONSES
General Information
For a PROPOSER to be considered, the City must receive five (5) copies of the proposal (one must be
unbound) by 4:00pm on December 15, 2023 at the following address:
Office of the City Clerk
City of San Carlos
600 Elm St
San Carlos, CA 94070
Or one printable PDF copy via email, sent to:
Crystal Mui, City Clerk
cmui@cityofsancarlos.org
Proposals must be clearly marked: “Sealed Proposal – Recruitment Services”
VII. PRE‐PROPOSAL ASSISTANCE
Questions regarding this RFP or a proposal may be directed until December 15, 2023 to Administrative
Services Director, Rebecca Mendenhall via email at rmendenhall@cityofsancarlos.org, or Human
Resources Manager, Angie Rodriguez via email at arodriguez@cityofsancarlos.org.