Police Chief

City-of-Concord,-Nh; Concord (NH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Concord, NH, is seeking a Police Chief to provide direction, leadership, and strategic vision for a dynamic agency in New Hampshire’s capital. The Chief will oversee 118.19 FTE across three divisions, manage an approximate $18.1 million budget, and collaborate with the City Manager and Council to advance public safety and community trust.

Emphasis on transparency, equity, and proactive crime prevention is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice or Public Administration required; master's preferred.
• Ten years of progressively responsible law enforcement experience with supervisory background.
• Valid New Hampshire Driver's License and Peace Officer Certification.

Responsibilities

• Provide direction for a wide range of law enforcement activities to protect life and property.
• Develop and implement operational and strategic goals for the department.
• Review budgets, authorize expenditures, and ensure efficient use of resources.
• Represent the department in public forums and manage community relations.
• Oversee recruitment, training, and performance evaluations of staff.
• Collaborate with City Manager and Council on safety policies and initiatives.
• Coordinate labor relations and participate in negotiations as part of the city team.
• Ensure compliance with legal mandates and department policies.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Public administration

Budget management

Community engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice

Bachelor's degree in Public Administration

Master's degree in Criminal Justice or Public Administration desirable

Tools

Driver's License (NH)

Peace Officer Certification

Job description

The City of Concord is looking for a Police Chief to provide direction, leadership, and strategy over a dynamic agency in the Capital City of New Hampshire.

The City of Concord (population 44,728; 3rd largest municipality in New Hampshire) is an awarding winning community which serves as New Hampshire’s state capital. Located at the intersection of two Interstate Highways (I-89 and I-93), Concord is within an hour of Boston, the scenic seacoasts of Maine and New Hampshire; and the beautiful White Mountains. The City is also less than one hour to Lake Winnipesaukee and New Hampshire’s Lakes Region.

In addition to being the seat of government, Concord is the regional center for employment, commerce, shopping, dining, arts and culture, as well as healthcare (Concord Hospital and a Dartmouth Hitchcock facility) in central New Hampshire. As such, the City’s day time population increases to approximately 90,000 people.

The Police Department is headed by the Police Chief who supervises the activities of 118.19 full-time-equivalent employees (FY2027), within three divisions (Operations, Administration and Support Services), with a total annual operating budget of approximately $18.1 million (FY2027).

Mission

The mission of the Police Department is to protect life and property, maintain order and to attempt to resolve the community's needs by coordinating the required resources.

The closing date for this process is September 4, 2026.

An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/DP/V.

Job Summary

Functions as head of the City of Concord Police Department, including the Bureaus of Support and Patrol Services. Provides direction for a wide range of law enforcement activities to protect life and property, prevent crime, apprehend criminals, and enforce laws, state regulations, and local ordinances. Develops and implements operational and strategic goals for the department. Develops, revises, and implements departmental policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all legal mandates. Reviews, modifies, and approves all phases of departmental/divisional budgets and ensures proper administration. Ensures the proper allocation of all departmental personnel and equipment for maximum efficiency. Evaluates performance of those directly supervised, and monitors the performance via performance evaluations of all departmental employees. On an ongoing basis, meets with members of the public to promote goodwill with the department, promote awareness of crime prevention programs, and evaluate security needs within the community.

Ensures that actual and potential crime and public safety problems are identified; ensures that personnel are adequately trained in the detection of problems and that report systems are properly constructed; reviews daily activity logs, individual officer reports, and monthly activity summaries; meets with employees at all levels of department as necessary; hears complaints from members of the public; also patrols the city at varying hours of day and night to ensure that on-duty officers correctly respond to problems.

Develops departmental goals and objectives to fit within the priorities of the City Administration and Council.

Ensures that departmental positions are adequately defined and that qualified individuals are recruited, carefully screened, and selected to fill specific positions throughout department; ensures that police officer candidates are properly and rigorously screened to properly serve public as well as to avoid legal and civil liability.

Determines and develops the organizational structure of the department; identifies the skills of personnel needed and deploys appropriate personnel to the various units within the department; monitors conditions and responds to changing conditions as appropriate.

Establishes the parameters within which departmental personnel must work to successfully accomplish stated goals.

Ensures that departmental disciplinary matters are handled in a consistent manner in accordance with the progressive discipline approach.

Ensures proper cooperation and communication between various departmental units and resolves disputes between immediate subordinates who direct the two different (and sometimes competing) bureaus of the department.

Responsible for addressing day-to-day issues relative to collective bargaining matters.

Assists in labor negotiations as part of the city’s Negotiations Team.

Ensures that personnel are properly and adequately trained; delegates details of training program to the Career Development Lieutenant; coordinates basic recruit training, specialty training provided by outside agencies, as well as eighteen (18) days of annual in-service training for officers.

Serves as main departmental public relations representative; attends numerous public meetings, and meets personally with citizens whose requests are not satisfied by subordinate levels within the department.

Ensures that the City Manager and the Council (through the Manager) are properly apprised in a timely manner of any extraordinary incidents that occur; also provides information to the public on safety and crime conditions and conducts news conferences to provide the public with complete information regarding unusual crimes or occurrences in order to dispel fear and discourage panic.

Advises the City Manager, other department heads, the City Council, and legislative committees on law enforcement and public safety issues.

Oversees and approves the development of annual departmental budget; monitors expenditures to ensure that appropriated amounts are not exceeded; ensures the best possible return on police expenditures; evaluates departmental programs, activities, and personnel; determines whether or not programs will be continued, modified, or terminated; ensures that departmental resources are effectively and efficiently utilized.

Represents the department in the planning and direction of cooperative ventures with law enforcement agencies of other municipalities, counties, and law enforcement agencies; chairs Concord Highway Safety Committee.

Routinely inspects (both personally and through delegated authority to immediate subordinates) the activities of all personnel to ensure that departmental policies and procedures are properly followed; reviews submitted reports and memoranda; also makes unannounced, on-site personal inspections as appropriate.

Ensures the proper investigation and approval or disapproval of applications for licenses to carry concealed weapons, to see weapons, to operate sound trucks, and/or to conduct casino or Monte Carlo nights; reviews and comments upon a number of applications for licenses that are processed by the Department of Code Enforcement.

Performs other related duties as assigned and provides on-call response 24 hours per day, 7 pays per week.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, or a related field. (Master's degree in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, or a related field is desirable); andt en years of progressively responsible experience in law enforcement with a minimum of five (5) years in a supervisory capacity; or,a ny combination of education, training and experience which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the job.

Licenses and Certifications:

Valid New Hampshire Driver's License. Certification as a Peace Officer by the State of New Hampshire.