Chief of Police

JOB TITLE: Chief of Police

REPORTS TO: Superintendent

WAGE/HOUR STATUS: Exempt

PAY GRADE: AM 10

Required: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Master Peace Officer Proficiency Certificate issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). Valid Texas Peace Officer license in good standing. Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible law enforcement experience. Minimum of five years of command-level, supervisory, or executive law enforcement leadership experience. Demonstrated experience directing personnel, operations, investigations, emergency response, and organizational resources. Valid Texas driver’s license with an acceptable driving record.

Preferred: Master’s degree from an accredited college or university. Previous experience serving as a Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police, or comparable executive-level law enforcement leader. Experience leading law enforcement or security operations in a public school district, governmental entity, or similarly complex organization. Graduation from an executive or command-level law enforcement leadership program, such as the Leadership Command College, FBI National Academy, or comparable program.

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS: Extensive knowledge of contemporary law enforcement administration, patrol operations, criminal investigations, crime prevention, emergency response, school safety, and security operations. Thorough knowledge of applicable federal and state laws, Texas criminal and education law, TCOLE requirements, local ordinances, Board policies, administrative regulations, and professional law enforcement standards. Knowledge of school-based policing practices and the unique legal, developmental, operational, and community considerations associated with serving students in an educational environment. Demonstrated knowledge of command-level law enforcement leadership, organizational management, and operational planning. Knowledge of emergency management, critical-incident command, threat assessment, crisis response, and interagency coordination. Knowledge of personnel selection, training, supervision, performance management, professional standards, and employee development. Ability to establish and maintain a professional organizational culture grounded in integrity, service, accountability, sound judgment, and respect. Ability to develop strategic and operational plans and translate organizational priorities into measurable departmental objectives. Ability to evaluate police and security operations using data, trends, performance measures, and other relevant information. Ability to interpret and apply laws, policies, procedures, regulations, and complex information accurately and consistently. Ability to make timely, sound decisions during high-pressure, rapidly evolving, sensitive, or ambiguous situations. Ability to manage departmental budgets, personnel, equipment, facilities, technology, contracts, and other resources effectively. Ability to communicate complex or sensitive information clearly and effectively to the Superintendent, Board of Trustees, executive leadership, employees, parents, students, law enforcement partners, media representatives, and members of the public. Ability to establish effective working relationships across departments, campuses, governmental agencies, and community organizations. Strong strategic-thinking, analytical, problem-solving, organizational, interpersonal, and written and oral communication skills. Ability to maintain confidentiality, exercise discretion, and demonstrate sound professional judgment.

Strategic Leadership and Department Administration: Provide executive leadership for the District Police Department and establish a clear strategic direction aligned with the District’s mission, priorities, safety needs, and operational objectives. Plan, organize, direct, evaluate, and continuously improve districtwide police, security, and protective-service operations. Advise the Superintendent and executive leadership regarding law enforcement, school safety, security risks, emergency response, crime trends, major incidents, and other matters within the department’s scope of responsibility. Develop short-range and long-range goals, operational priorities, performance measures, and improvement strategies for the department. Establish departmental expectations, systems, protocols, and accountability measures that promote professional, lawful, ethical, equitable, and service-oriented policing. Develop, recommend, implement, and periodically review departmental policies, standard operating procedures, deployment plans, and administrative practices. Ensure departmental operations are aligned with applicable laws, regulations, Board policies, District procedures, TCOLE standards, and generally accepted law enforcement practices. Maintain current knowledge of emerging school-safety issues, law enforcement practices, legislative requirements, security technologies, and other developments affecting District operations.

Law Enforcement and Security Operations: Direct the deployment of police officers, security personnel, equipment, technology, and other resources to provide effective law enforcement and protective services throughout the District. Ensure appropriate police and security coverage for campuses, District facilities, extracurricular activities, major events, Board meetings, and other District operations as needed. Develop and oversee operational plans addressing campus security, traffic management, crowd control, special events, high-risk activities, and other identified safety needs. Establish systems for identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and responding to districtwide safety and security concerns. Monitor law enforcement activity, incident patterns, response times, calls for service, crime trends, and other operational data to identify risks and opportunities for improvement. Ensure police and security operations are responsive to campus and department needs while maximizing the efficient use of personnel, equipment, time, and financial resources. Promote policing practices that support safe, orderly, and positive educational environments while recognizing the developmental needs of students and the distinct role of school-based law enforcement.

Emergency Response and Crisis Management: Provide command leadership during emergencies, critical incidents, significant threats, and crisis situations affecting District students, employees, property, or operations. Coordinate law enforcement response with District leadership, emergency-management personnel, campus administrators, first responders, and appropriate local, state, and federal agencies. Participate in the development, implementation, evaluation, and improvement of District emergency-response and crisis-management protocols. Ensure appropriate departmental participation in emergency exercises, drills, after-action reviews, and corrective-action planning. Provide executive-level assessment and recommendations regarding emerging or significant threats to District safety and security.

Investigations and Threat Response: Ensure that criminal offenses occurring on or affecting District property, programs, students, or employees are investigated promptly, objectively, thoroughly, and in accordance with applicable law and departmental procedures. Oversee or provide command-level direction for significant, sensitive, complex, or high-profile criminal investigations. Ensure evidence is appropriately identified, collected, preserved, documented, secured, and transferred in accordance with applicable legal and professional requirements. Ensure witness, victim, suspect, and other relevant statements and investigative activities are properly documented. Direct or oversee investigations involving threats against District students, employees, schools, facilities, events, or property. Coordinate with District administrators and appropriate multidisciplinary teams regarding threat assessment, behavioral concerns, emergency response, and other safety-related matters while maintaining appropriate boundaries between administrative and criminal investigations. Ensure appropriate notifications, referrals, reporting, and coordination with other law enforcement or governmental agencies when required.

Personnel Leadership and Organizational Culture: Recruit, select, assign, supervise, develop, evaluate, and retain highly qualified police, security, communications, administrative, and other departmental personnel. Establish clear standards for employee conduct, professionalism, responsiveness, performance, documentation, and customer service. Hold department leaders and employees accountable for meeting established expectations, complying with policies and procedures, and achieving departmental objectives. Develop leadership capacity and succession readiness within the department through coaching, mentoring, professional learning, and purposeful assignment of responsibilities. Ensure departmental employees receive required and appropriate training based on legal requirements, operational needs, identified risks, performance data, and emerging best practices. Promote an organizational culture characterized by professionalism, trust, accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and service to students, employees, campuses, and the community. Address performance, conduct, operational, or organizational concerns promptly and appropriately.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with campus principals, department leaders, and executive leadership to assess safety and security needs and develop responsive solutions. Consult with school and District administrators concerning law enforcement, security, emergency-response, traffic, event-management, and other matters within the Police Department’s area of responsibility. Build effective partnerships with students, employees, families, and community stakeholders to strengthen trust, communication, crime prevention, and school safety. Establish and maintain effective professional relationships and mutual-aid partnerships with municipal, county, state, federal, emergency-management, fire, emergency-medical, prosecutorial, and other public-safety agencies. Represent the District professionally in meetings with governmental agencies, community organizations, professional associations, law enforcement partners, and other stakeholders. Communicate promptly with executive leadership regarding significant incidents, emerging concerns, organizational risks, and matters that could materially affect District operations, safety, reputation, or public confidence.

Fiscal and Resource Management: Develop, administer, monitor, and evaluate the Police Department budget in alignment with District priorities, operational requirements, and sound fiscal practices. Ensure responsible stewardship of departmental funds, vehicles, equipment, technology, facilities, contracts, and other resources. Analyze staffing, deployment, overtime, equipment, technology, and operational expenditures to identify efficiencies and ensure resources are aligned with identified needs. Develop recommendations for resource allocation, staffing levels, equipment acquisition, technology, and operational investments using data and demonstrated organizational need. Ensure appropriate internal controls, inventory management, and accountability for departmental property and resources.

Data, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement: Establish meaningful performance indicators for departmental operations and regularly evaluate effectiveness, efficiency, service quality, compliance, and organizational outcomes. Analyze crime data, calls for service, incidents, response patterns, staffing information, stakeholder feedback, and other relevant measures to identify trends and guide decision-making. Provide the Superintendent and other District leaders with accurate, timely, and actionable information regarding department performance, significant trends, risks, and recommended actions. Conduct or direct reviews of major incidents, operations, programs, practices, and organizational systems to identify lessons learned and opportunities for improvement. Implement corrective actions and monitor progress toward identified departmental improvement priorities.

Professional Standards and Compliance: Maintain high standards of integrity, ethics, professionalism, impartiality, and accountability throughout the department. Ensure complaints concerning departmental personnel or police services are appropriately received, reviewed, investigated, documented, and resolved in accordance with applicable law and District procedures. Ensure compliance with required licensing, certification, training, reporting, records-management, evidence-management, and other regulatory obligations. Maintain appropriate confidentiality and security of law enforcement, personnel, student, investigative, and other sensitive information. Cooperate with District audits, investigations, legal matters, records requests, and compliance review as appropriate.

Other: Attend Board meetings, executive leadership meetings, public meetings, emergency-management meetings, and other District activities as requested or required. Be available outside regular business hours to provide command leadership or consultation regarding significant incidents and emergencies. Perform other duties as assigned by the Superintendent.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: Provide executive leadership and direct supervision for the District Police Department and assigned police, security, communications, administrative, and related personnel. Establish organizational structures, leadership expectations, operational priorities, and accountability systems necessary to achieve District and departmental objectives. Select, develop, coach, supervise, and evaluate department leaders and ensure effective supervision throughout the organization. Delegate authority appropriately while maintaining accountability for departmental performance, compliance, employee conduct, fiscal stewardship, operational effectiveness, and service quality. Lead the development and implementation of major initiatives spanning multiple functional areas. Evaluate recommendations, analyze alternatives, and determine appropriate courses of action in complex or ambiguous situations. Collaborate with the Superintendent and executive leadership to develop strategies, establish departmental objectives, allocate resources, evaluate outcomes, and advance District strategic priorities.

WORKING CONDITIONS: Mental Demands: Maintain emotional control and exercise sound judgment under stress and during emergency, crisis, high-risk, controversial, or rapidly evolving situations. Work with frequent interruptions and competing priorities. Analyze complex information, identify and solve problems, interpret laws, policies, procedures, and data, and make timely decisions with significant organizational and public-safety implications. Communicate effectively in oral and written form and maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive law enforcement, personnel, student, and District matters. Physical Demands/Environmental Factors: The usual and customary methods of performing the job require physical mobility, prolonged sitting and standing, walking, occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling, and the ability to respond to emergency or operational situations as necessary. Frequent districtwide travel and occasional statewide or other travel are required. Work may occur indoors and outdoors and may involve exposure to adverse weather conditions, traffic, crowds, emergency scenes, potentially dangerous situations, and other conditions associated with law enforcement operations. The position requires a flexible work schedule, including prolonged or irregular hours, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, emergency call-outs, and attendance at District functions and major events as required. The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this position and are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, working conditions, or requirements that may be assigned. The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties that may be assigned or skills that may be required.

Position Type: Full-Time Job Requirements

Phone: (281) 891-6000

Email: careers@springisd.org