Do you need a "SugarCRM developer" or would a "PHP developer with a strong grasp of MVC concepts" work out?
There might be more of the latter around. "Learning as they go" is not the same process for all people. Some folks do it quickly and efficiently (because they've learned about many other technologies before) while others are still learning how to learn.
Maybe a little more focus on the person and a little less on the resume bullet points would help. Just a suggestion. Then again, it's also possible that I'm underestimating the complexity of SugarCRM customization and it really does require a SugarCRM expert. If that's the case, I'd suggest considering the "Partners" section of the SugarCRM website. If you're willing to pay market rate, I'd be pretty surprised if there's nobody out there that can help.
-Jason