Intent to Sole-Source: Early Career Talent Recruitment Platform

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS/QUOTATIONS.

The U.S. Department of State (DoS) , Bureau of Human Resources, Office of Outreach, Fellowships, and Internships (HR/RAI/OFI) intends to award a sole-source, firm, fixed-price (FFP) contract to Stryder Corp dba Handshake. This aware, authorized under procedures at 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and RFO12.201-2, justified under 41 U.S. Code 3304(a)(1) as implemented by RFO 6.103-1 as the procurement is for commercial items that are proprietary, that Stryder Corp is the only responsible source capable of satisfying agency requirements and only sold directly by Stryder Corp. Under the intended contract, Stryder Corp will provide the HR/RAI/OFI a cloud-based early career talent recruitment platform subscriptions for a 12-month base and two 12-month option periods.

DoS requires a modern dynamic recruitment platform to attract, engage, and convert early career talent (students and recent graduates) into applicants for a number of the department bureaus and programs. The platform is already developed and capable of targeting students according to their academic majors, career interests, and related qualifications, and direct them to relevant employment opportunities within DoS through immediate operational readiness as a fully deployed, commercially operational SaaS platform with zero infrastructure integration, buildout or implementation timeline required.

Stryder Corp is the sole provider with an existing platform that is immediately operational and supported by over 1,600 institutional partnerships nationwide with colleges and universities. Therefore, this procurement will be conducted via sole-source, utilizing other than full and open competition procedures under the authority of RFO 6.103-1, as only one responsible source can satisfy agency requirements.

Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. This notice of intent if not a request for competitive proposal. However, the Government will consider all responses received by September 3, 2026 (Noon) 12:00 PM EST. The Government will not be responsible for any cost incurred in preparation of proposals/quotations. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a subsequent competitive procurement. All interested parties may submit a response for consideration via email to John K. Warner, Contracting Officer, WarnerJ1@state.gov.