Description

The Mayor and the five members of the Council of the City of Prichard seek an exceptional law-enforcement executive to lead the transformation and rebuilding of the Prichard Police Department. This is not a traditional police chief assignment. The successful candidate will be both an accomplished law-enforcement professional and a transformational organizational leader capable of rebuilding leadership and personnel systems, establishing a culture of accountability, and restoring public legitimacy while implementing and maintaining effective public safety services.

The qualified candidate for the position of Chief of Police will have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in criminal justice or a closely related field and seven (7) years of progressively responsible supervisory police agency experience, including staffing, community relations, crime investigation, budgeting, planning, training, research, analysis and crime prevention strategies. At least five (5) years of the experience must have been in an administrative and managerial capacity with program responsibility. A master's degree in criminal justice or a closely related field may be substituted for two years of the non-administrative, non-managerial experience.

The successful candidate will be a senior-level law-enforcement leader with the following set of experience, knowledge, and skills:

• In-depth understanding and knowledge of modern policing practices in the context of state and federal laws, regulations, public safety policies
• Demonstrated appreciation for and ability to effectively lead a diverse workforce
• Proven ability to identify, adopt, and leverage technology in both the direct areas of law enforcement and in engaging the community to build trust, understanding, and transparency
• Experience in creating a positive work culture based on integrity, trust, and fairness
• Strong communication and collaboration skills that reach beyond the department, across City agencies and offices, and into the community
• Strong strategic vision and planning abilities
• The highest ethical standards and integrity
• Experience as an effective operational administrator

Requirements

The ideal candidate will clearly demonstrate key values, skills, and knowledge across the following areas:

• Transformational Leadership — A proven ability to lead organizations through significant institutional change, particularly in circumstances involving misconduct, loss of public trust, external versight, or accreditation challenges.
• Exceptional Integrity & Ethical Courage — An unimpeachable commitment to ethical conduct and the courage to confront misconduct, conflicts of interest, and entrenched organizational practices, regardless of internal or political pressure.
• Culture Change & Organizational Development — The ability to move beyond policies and training to change the informal norms, incentives, supervisory practices, and behaviors that define an organization's culture.
• Personnel & Leadership Judgment — Demonstrated experience evaluating senior leadership and personnel, developing new leaders, making difficult disciplinary and personnel decisions, and building a workforce aligned with the values and expectations of a reconstituted department.
• Accountability & Reform — Strong knowledge of contemporary police accountability systems, including professional standards, internal investigations, early-intervention systems, supervisory accountability, performance management, data-driven oversight, and independent review.
• Community Trust & Legitimacy — Exceptional ability to engage residents and stakeholders who may be skeptical, angry, or deeply distrustful of law enforcement. The candidate must understand that lasting public trust is earned through institutional behavior, transparency, fairness, and consistent
  accountability.
• Operational Leadership — The ability to maintain effective public safety operations while simultaneously undertaking profound organizational change. The Chief must be capable of balancing immediate operational demands with a long-term transformation agenda.
• Transparency & Communication — A highly effective communicator who can acknowledge institutional failures without defensiveness, explain difficult decisions, communicate progress candidly, and establish credibility with employees, elected officials, residents, and external oversight bodies.