Fire Chief – Town of Chapel Hill, NC

Recognized as one of the best towns in the U.S. by the Guardian, the Town of Chapel Hill, NC seeks an experienced fire professional to serve as its next Fire Chief and lead the department through a season of growth and opportunity. This position is for the visionary leader – one with significant strategic planning experience who will create unity around a strategic vision for the department and ensure alignment with the growth of the community and the Town’s strategic plan. The next Fire Chief has demonstrated experience utilizing fire service best practices in staff recruitment, retention, and succession planning as well as acquisition and access to equipment, technology, and training. The next Fire Chief will effectively balance coaching and encouraging employees while also ensuring equity, inclusion, and accountability across the department.

About the Department and Position: With a mission of preparing, learning, training, and engaging, the Chapel Hill Fire Department (CHFD) provides fire protection, basic rescue and first responder medical services to the Town of Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through 5 fire stations. With more than 4,000 calls per year, the department proudly carries an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 2 which enables residents and businesses to enjoy low property insurance premiums. The CHFD is home to the famous Carolina Blue fire trucks and is proud to be the UNC Tar Heels fire protection. All CHFD firefighters and fire officers are certified to at least North Carolina Level II Firefighters.  Reporting to the Town Manager, the Fire Chief will oversee a budget of over $10mil and lead a department of 94 fire personnel including 3 direct reports.

Qualifications: The Town seeks a fire safety leader with a minimum of 20 years progressive fire safety experience who must have 5 years of cross-functional and progressively responsible experience including fire suppression, prevention, EMS, and administrative work at the rank of Battalion Chief, Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief or Fire Chief.  A BA/BS degree, or equivalent years of experience, is required. A Master’s degree and/or NFA certification is preferred. Graduation from the Executive Fire Officer Program is preferred, as well as designation of Chief Fire Officer through the Center for Public Safety.

Salary and Benefits: The hiring range for this position is $126,267-164,431. Compensation is negotiable based upon experience and qualifications. The Town’s excellent benefits package can be viewed in the full job posting via the link below.

To apply, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/developmentalassociates and click on the Fire Chief – Town of Chapel Hill, NC title.  All applications must be submitted online via the Developmental Associates application portal – NOT the Town Employment Application portal, nor any other external website; it is not sufficient to send only a resume. Resumes and cover letters must be uploaded with the application. Applicants are encouraged to apply by April 13, 2023. Successful semi-finalists will be invited to participate in virtual interviews and skill evaluation on May 11 – 12, 2023. Candidates should reserve these dates for virtual meetings should they be invited to participate. All inquiries should be emailed to [email protected] The Town of Chapel Hill is an EOE. The recruitment and selection process are being managed by Developmental Associates, LLC.