The Orange County Jobs First (formerly the Community Economic Resilience Fund aka CERF) Collaborative is soliciting proposals in response to a Request for Qualifications for the positions of Catalyst Sector Investment Coordinators. This contract's purpose is to obtain the services of up to five consultants, known as Sector Investment Coordinators, to support the Orange County Jobs First Collaborative in executing the Catalyst grant awarded to the region. The collaborative seeks to engage sector investment coordinators, with the description of services listed in the RFQ, to advise how to fund $9 million in project pre-development activities. The collaborative will select up to five sector investment coordinators for a contract term through September 2026. The budget cap for this contract is $1.5 million to cover all the coordinators hired.

The purpose of the Sector Investment Coordinators is to support Orange County in creating systemic changes in its regional economy, to bridge the gap between the region’s Jobs First Strategies, and to implement projects designed to achieve outcomes that align with those strategies. Catalyst funds will support Orange County’s Jobs First Collaborative to invest $9 million in project pre-development activities to take projects from exploratory and last-mile to ready-to-go projects that can access local, state, and federal government funds, as well as private and philanthropic investments.

For more details the full RFQ can be found here, and the budget template here.

In order to be eligible to apply, please submit a letter of intent to apply by 5:00 pm PST June 1, 2024 to jobsfirst@ocbc.org