HirePaths Careers

Career Hunt Subcontractor Request for Proposals

HirePaths Inc. aims to subcontract event planning services to a firm or individual dedicated to introducing the next generation of Kansas students to high-demand careers. The subcontractor will work with the HirePaths executive director to facilitate ongoing Career Hunt events for middle school students and expand the number of regions in the state that hold events each year. Eight pilot events were held in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, including events in Finney County, Goodland, Hays, Manhattan and Salina. Five regional events are anticipated for the 2026-27 school year, and we will aim to increase the number of annual events over the next three years to as many as 12 regional events per year across the state. 

To learn more about Career Hunt events, check out the following resources:

• https://hirepaths.com/career-hunts
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJAco_bZ50&t=1s

Scope of Work

This contract will be in place from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, in support of the 2026-27 school year. Tasks are envisioned to be as follows.

• Coordinate with local planning committees to host Career Hunts in their communities. This includes working with first-time event hosts as well as those coordinating events for the second or third year.
• Facilitate kickoff meetings with each community and help them choose a date and appropriate location for the event. This includes coordinating with school contacts to find an appropriate date for the event and negotiating with a host facility. Historically, facility space has been donated or discounted by an institution of higher learning or a government entity. If donated event space isn’t available, local grants or sponsors may be needed to underwrite facility costs. 
• Coordinate with a local planning committee to invite local schools from the region to attend. Events are designed to accommodate up to approximately 360 students per half-day session. (Some communities choose to run morning and afternoon events to accommodate as many as 700 students in one day.)
• Assist the local planning committee to recruit approximately 36 businesses and a keynote speaker for each event. Businesses will facilitate three breakout sessions with hands-on activities for each half-day event. The keynote speaker will deliver a 10- to 15-minute presentation to set the tone for the day and get students excited about the event. Sample emails are available to jump-start this process. 
• Work with the board of directors to solicit statewide sponsors to underwrite event costs and support local partners’ efforts to write grants (if needed) to cover each event’s hard costs. Examples of successful past grants are available as models.
• Collaborate with school contacts to answer questions during student registration and ensure all students are registered prior to the event deadline. For now, registrations will continue to be made on the HirePaths.com website and compiled via the existing HirePaths custom system; other commercially available options made be used in the future. 
• Collaborate with New Boston Creative Group to order materials and prepare student schedules ahead of the event. Event logo, signage, student reflection handouts and surveys, PowerPoint templates, an opening video, a training video and a system for creating student lanyards have been designed and can be reused. Graphic design and web design expertise will be provided. We assume this process and all materials will be continuously improved. 
• Work with a college student intern to further develop resources to support the educational component of speaker’s sessions. The end goal is to expand and enhance our list of activities businesses can refer to when planning their sessions.
• Provide training and ideas to volunteer speakers to prepare them for the event. We hold this training via videoconference approximately three weeks before the event and record for any speakers who can’t attend. 
• Handle all official communications for the event to schools and volunteers prior to event day. This includes communicating the schedule for the day, expectations for speakers, information on audio/visual capabilities of the facility and parking, etc. 
• Attend Career Hunts and direct on-site activities the day of the event with the help of local planning committee members and volunteers. This includes handling volunteer registration, directing the opening session, answering questions from all groups and helping coordinate the flow of students between sessions with the help of the local committee and teachers. 
• Coordinate paper-based student surveys on-site the day of the event and tabulate results for individual events as well as the entire series of events. The survey tool already exists.
• Distribute and tabulate electronic surveys to educators, businesses and volunteers after the event. The survey tool already exists. 
• Create a simple analytics report for each individual event and compile a final report for the HirePaths board of directors and grantors at the end of the year. An example is available from the 2025-26 school year. 
• Conduct preliminary planning for 2027-28 school year and beyond (spring/summer 2027).

Proposal

The proposal will include the following. 

• Qualifications: Provide a company overview, resumes of key personnel who would be working on the project, and experience hosting events, especially those involving schools, children and teenagers. Experience working in education is preferred but is not required.
• Budget: Provide a budget for estimated labor costs associated with the above scope of work, assuming five separate events for 2026-27. Mileage, food and other hard costs can be estimated, as these will vary by event location. Hard costs related to the events (such as facility rental, printing, supplies, snacks) are not to be included.
• References: Provide three references of past clients or employers for whom services have been provided for event planning, including contact information. 

Questions

Contact Kristin Brighton, HirePaths executive director, at [email protected] with any clarifying questions. 

Deadline

Proposals should be submitted via email to [email protected] no later than 5 p.m. Friday, May 29.