Chief of Police

Under the general direction of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Chief of Police leads, coordinates, and manages all aspects of campus safety services. This includes law enforcement, emergency management, risk management, global security programs, building security, access control, and compliance with federal reporting requirements. The Chief is expected to lead a community-oriented, service-based public safety program grounded in the principles of fairness and transparency, and to build and sustain trust with students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding Durham community.

This position requires a proven leader who can effectively manage a comprehensive public safety program while fostering a culture of collaboration, risk mitigation, and emergency preparedness within the university community and is responsible for directing emergency planning initiatives, developing and managing department-level emergency action and continuity plans, and providing leadership in university-wide crisis and emergency management planning. Additionally, this role partners with other university offices for acute behavioral intervention and oversees public safety services across all University of New Hampshire campuses and properties, including international study programs. The Chief works in close partnership with the Vice President for Student Life and the broader Division of Student Life to advance student safety, well-being, and educational outcomes through prevention, early intervention, and shared response protocols, and treats education and relationship-building as core public safety functions on equal footing with enforcement and emergency response.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Assume primary responsibility for key public safety functions, including law enforcement, emergency management, and prevention strategies.

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships internally and externally to promote the welfare of the university community and its surrounding areas.

• Collaborate with university leadership, including the Provost, Vice President for Student Life, Title IX Coordinator, Counseling and Psychological Services, Residential Life, Health & Wellness, Athletics, and external law enforcement and public safety agencies.

• Represent the institution in discussions with the NH General Court and U.S. Department of Education to ensure compliance with the Jeanne Clery Act, including the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, daily crime log, timely warning and emergency notification systems, and CSA training.

• Serve as the university’s global security executive, supporting international safety efforts and maintaining emergency response capabilities for faculty, staff, and students abroad.

• Embed the principles of community-oriented policing throughout the department’s operations, training, hiring, and culture, with a particular focus on legitimacy, fair treatment, and trust-building with students.

• Serve as a standing executive partner on the University’s Behavioral Intervention Team, ensuring coordinated, trauma-informed response to students or community members in distress and clear protocols for information-sharing within applicable privacy and FERPA constraints.

• Champion transparency and accountability through public reporting on department activities, use of force, stops and citations, and complaint dispositions, and support meaningful student, faculty, staff, and community advisory engagement on departmental policy and practice.

Administration and Development

• Develop long-term risk management strategies aligned with the university’s risk tolerance and establish short-term objectives.

• Implement and oversee public safety procedures related to campus security, including access control, crime prevention, and safety awareness.

• Allocate public safety resources effectively and pursue external grant support to enhance safety programs.

• Manage mutual aid agreements and emergency dispatch center service agreements with campus organizations, municipalities, and private entities.

• Oversee training initiatives related to campus safety, emergency response, and global security preparedness.

• Maintain institutional compliance with federal and state laws, ensuring adherence to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability.

• Collaborate with IT security teams on cyber-crime investigations and public safety technology infrastructure, including surveillance programs and records management systems.

• Collaborate with UNH Global to assess and support safety and security training strategies and programs for administrators, faculty, and professional groups participating in study abroad.

• Oversees executive level protection programming associated with campus visits, special events, and travel of key university administrators as needed.

• Coordinate closely with the Title IX Coordinator on the response to sexual misconduct, dating and domestic violence, and stalking, ensuring trauma-informed practices and clear lanes between criminal investigation and Title IX adjudication.

• Partner with Student Life, Wellness Center, Athletics, and Fraternity and Sorority Life on alcohol and other drug (AOD) education, harm reduction, medical amnesty practices, and large-event safety planning for athletic events, commencement, move-in, and major campus gatherings.

• Use data and evidence to inform deployment, training, and policy, and publish meaningful operational metrics to the campus community on a regular cadence to support informed dialogue and continuous improvement.

Community Engagement and Education

• Partner with the Dean of Students and the Office of Community Standards to support a coordinated and comprehensive response to student behavioral concerns, including serving on the Acute Incident Response Team, participating on the Behavioral Intervention Team, and engaging in timely, appropriate information sharing to support student safety and well-being.

• Participate visibly in transition experiences for new, incoming, and first-year students to introduce the department’s mission, services, and partnership-based approach early in the student experience.

• Lead crime prevention, personal safety, and bystander intervention education in collaboration with Student Life, the SHARPP advocacy program, and faculty partners.

• Build and sustain proactive, two-way relationships with student organizations, including the Student Senate, Fraternity and Sorority Life, athletics, graduate student associations, and identity-based and affinity groups, and create regular, low-stakes opportunities for non-enforcement engagement between officers and the community.

• Provide and coordinate threat awareness, active assailant preparedness, situational awareness, and de-escalation training for faculty, staff, and student leaders, calibrated to the academic and residential settings in which they work.

Management and Supervision

• Oversee the University of New Hampshire Police department, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and effective supervision of personnel.

• Manage the division’s operating budget, personnel, and physical assets to meet institutional needs.

• Lead emergency response and risk management efforts across all University of New Hampshire campuses and properties, coordinating resources effectively during crises.

• Foster an inclusive, professional work environment while ensuring strong community relations with university stakeholders, local law enforcement, and external agencies.

• Commitment to continuous learning and professional development for both self and department members to uphold CALEA/IACLEA principles of ongoing self-assessment and improvement.

• Establish and sustain an officer and staff wellness program addressing physical, mental, and emotional health, including peer support, critical incident debriefing, and access to confidential counseling.

• Ensure all officers receive ongoing, documented training in de-escalation, crisis intervention, mental health response, sexual assault response, and trauma-informed practices, and integrate this training into hiring, promotion, and performance management.

• Develop and operate a co-response or alternative response model for behavioral health calls in partnership with Counseling and Psychological Services, Health & Wellness, and community providers, so that the right responder reaches each call.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, public administration, political science, psychology, sociology or criminology and experience in threat assessment, risk management, or a related field.

• 10 or more years of progressively responsible management experience in law enforcement.

• Must have proven expertise in Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management (BTAM), and experience in threat assessment and risk management.

• Maintain federal security clearance (FBI or Department of Homeland Security) and maintain public safety law enforcement accreditation.

• Current New Hampshire law enforcement certification or eligibility to obtain certification within 90 days of employment.

• Expertise in threat management, risk assessments, criminal investigations, intelligence analysis, and emergency management planning.

• Experience managing public safety operations in higher education or a comparable environment.

• Strong leadership skills with a demonstrated ability to manage diverse teams across multiple locations.

• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to respond effectively to multiple concurrent priorities.

• Demonstrated commitment to community-oriented policing and to a service-based, partnership model with academic and student life units in a residential university setting.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in criminal justice, public administration, emergency management, psychology, sociology or criminology.

• Graduate of the FBI National Academy or equivalent, and Advanced Certification in Emergency Management (GEM) or equivalent.

• Knowledge of Higher Education Regulations and policies related to student safety, Title IX, Clery Act, and other applicable laws.

• Demonstrated commitment to the principles of the LEACT Commission and alignment with the University’s values, emphasizing a community-oriented approach to policing as an integral part of the university.

• Experience leading or substantively supporting CALEA and/or IACLEA accreditation or reaccreditation processes.

• Experience working constructively with civilian advisory boards, community oversight bodies, or campus-based public safety review groups.

Applicant Instructions: 

Applicants should be prepared to upload the following documents when applying online within the My Experience: Resume/CV section of the application: (Maximum of 5 Documents)

• Resume/CV

• Cover Letter

Applications that are missing any of the required items may not move forward for consideration. Additional uploaded documents not requested in the position announcement will not be reviewed.

The University of New Hampshire is an R1 Carnegie classification research institution providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. There is a student enrollment of 13,000 students, with a full-time faculty of over 600, offering 90 undergraduate and more than 70 graduate programs. The University actively promotes a dynamic learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds pursue academic goals with mutual respect and shared inquiry.

EEO Statement

The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status.

Compensation Pay Range:

$101,970.00 - $197,380.00

The pay range for this position is listed above. Actual offer will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity, in addition to relevant business considerations. More information on benefits can be found here: USNH Employee Benefits | Human Resources

Location:

Durham