Chief of Police – Wilson, NC

The innovative and growing City of Wilson, NC, is seeking a collaborative and forward‑thinking Chief of Police to lead a department at an important moment of organizational change and community growth. The next Chief must be a visible, engaged leader who prioritizes communication, trust‑building, and morale while creating a culture where employees feel heard, supported, and valued. Staff are looking for a Chief who has an inclusive and transparent leadership style that empowers supervisors, promotes accountability, and strengthens communication across all levels of the organization.

The ideal candidate combines strong people skills with solid, hands‑on policing experience—someone who understands the importance of supporting experienced officers while mentoring and developing a younger workforce that may view policing differently than past generations. The department sees significant potential in its newest hires and is looking for a leader who listens actively, understands a changing workforce, remains open to new ideas, and provides clear, consistent direction.

Equally important is a commitment to community policing and relationship‑building. The next Chief will maintain strong connections with residents, the community, and regional partners while ensuring the department remains responsive to a growing, increasingly diverse community. Above all, the next Chief will bring integrity, transparency, and a willingness to listen—recognizing that the department has strong potential, new staff with significant promise, employees who want to be led, and a genuine openness to new ideas.

The City of Wilson, which operates under a Council/Manager form of Government, is led by a Mayor and seven council members. Wilson is well‑managed and has several high‑performing and award‑winning departments, including accredited Police, Fire, Parks and Recreation Departments, and the Downtown Development Division. Wilson Energy, which serves 35,000 customers in a five‑county region, is a Reliable Public Power Provider and is consistently recognized for first‑in‑class reliability.

The City’s recently completed Wilson Growing Together:
The 2043 Comprehensive Plan guides future development and growth within Wilson and addresses many key issues, including growing intentionally, connecting people and places, fostering vibrant neighborhoods, promoting economic prosperity, conserving green places, creating active and thriving communities, plan implementation, and community engagement. The City’s FY2026 budget totals $ and maintains the City’s current tax rate of $0.525 cents per $100 of taxable valuation.

Learn more about the City of Wilson here.

Reporting to the Assistant City Manager, the Chief of Police oversees a FY2026 budget of approximately $18,353,460 million and leads a senior staff that includes two majors and six captains, as well as a department of 143 employees. A primary responsibility of the next Chief of Police will be to increase staffing levels and strengthen recruitment and retention efforts to address current vacancies, workload challenges, and burnout.

The department must compete more effectively in a regional market where surrounding agencies may offer comparable or higher pay with less work. The Chief will play a central role in workforce planning, advocating for competitive pay and incentives, and ensuring staffing strategies align with anticipated growth, new industry development, and major initiatives such as the upcoming baseball stadium. Additionally, the Chief will evaluate operational practices, policies, and leadership approaches to ensure fairness, transparency, and clarity while helping the organization move forward in a unified direction.

• Build a strong organizational culture and aligned leadership structure through improved internal communication, clear chain‑of‑command expectations, supervisory support, consistent accountability, and defined leadership.
• Stabilize staffing and improve retention by addressing manpower shortages, creatively evaluating vacancies, and implementing staffing strategies that keep pace with growth…