Chief of Police / Executive Director of College Safety

Salary: $144,507.51 - $204,185.32 Annually
Location : Bakersfield College -- Panorama Campus, CA
Job Type: Management - Classified Administrator
Job Number:
College: Bakersfield College
Opening Date: 10/23/2026
Closing Date: Continuous
Salary Range/Class: 016
Hours Per Week: 40
Months Per Year: 12
Assured Consideration Date: 11/06/2026
Internal Posting Information: None

Below is our job description for this position. Please also review the Important Instructions & Additional Information section below, which contains valuable information about our application process.
Basic Function
Under general direction of the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Chief of Police/Executive Director of College Safety plans, directs, and manages all college law enforcement, campus security, emergency management, business continuity, health and fire safety, 9-1-1 communications, parking, and transportation operations. Serves as the chief executive law enforcement officer and primary College official for sworn and unsworn policing, critical incident response, and safety compliance for Bakersfield College.

Representative Duties
Executive Leadership, Fiscal Management & Governance:

• Provides strategic direction for all public safety operations, aligning departmental goals with College priorities, equity goals, and continuous quality improvement.
• Prepares, administers, and controls the annual operating and capital budgets, authorizing expenditures and managing resources for staffing, equipment, contracts, and technology.
• Recruits, selects, trains, supervises, evaluates, and disciplines assigned sworn and non-sworn personnel in accordance with POST requirements, District policies, and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
• Develops and administers departmental policies and procedures and recommends College-wide policies and procedures related to public safety and emergency management, and college safety operations.
• Directs 24-hour college safety operation including criminal and administrative investigations, crime prevention, event security, traffic enforcement, subject interrogations, and court appearances.
• Enforces federal, state, and local laws, as well as College regulations, while upholding the Peace Officer Code of Ethics and Public Safety Officer's Bill of Rights.
• Oversee compliance, criminal justice information security, and evidence preservation.
• Emergency Management, Crisis Response & Business Continuity
• Serves as the College's lead emergency management official and assumes the role of Incident Commander, Unified Command representative, or other appropriate ICS role during campus emergencies, as circumstances require.
• Oversee the development, testing, and execution of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and Business Continuity Program in compliance with NIMS, SEMS, and ICS standards.
• Coordinates EOP simulations, table-top exercises, building evacuations, and disaster preparedness training.
• Maintain cooperative relationships and mutual aid agreements with local, state, and federal law enforcement, fire, and emergency response partners.

Statutory Compliance & Interagency MOUs:

• Ensures compliance within assigned public safety functions with applicable statutory and regulatory mandates, including Clery Act reporting, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) requirements, Student Right-to-Know requirements, Uniform Crime Reporting, and applicable Title IX reporting and coordination responsibilities.
• Maintains compliance with the Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act by executing and maintaining written MOUs with local law enforcement agencies regarding jurisdiction over Part 1 violent crimes and serious incidents.
• Oversees sex offender registry tracking and required public disclosure reporting.
• 9-1-1 Communications & Auxiliary Services
• Directs the operations, technology, and staffing of the campus 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), dispatch unit, emergency notifications, and dispatch service agreements.
• Oversee parking enforcement, permit programs, traffic control, and campus shuttle/transportation operations.
• Coordinates with Risk Management and Maintenance and Operations on fire safety systems, industrial accident reviews, and facility safety assessments.
• Community Engagement & Behavioral Intervention
• Fosters trust through community-oriented policing, participatory governance, and trauma-informed safety practices.
• Serves on multidisciplinary campus committees, such as the safety committee, and collaborates with Student Life on student conduct matters,

Minimum Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in administration of justice, criminology, criminal justice, police science, law enforcement, public administration or related field or any equivalent combination of education and experience
• Five (5) years of progressively responsible public law-enforcement experience, including at least three (3) years in a command or management capacity.
• Possession of a certificate signifying completion of a course of training approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (California Penal Code, Section 832) prior to employment.
• California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Supervisory Certificates.
• Possession of valid Standard First Aid and CPR certificates.

LICENSES, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Incident Command Certification in ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, and IS 700 and 800, or ability to obtain certification within one year of hire.
• Valid California Driver's License
• Satisfactory completion of pre-employment physical assessment
• Satisfactory completion of pre-employment drug testing
• Must maintain Post Annual Training Requirements.
• Sensitivity to and understanding the diverse cultural, socioeconomic

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related field from an accredited college or university
• CA POST Management Certificate.
• Documented experience in Emergency Management/Preparedness and Crisis Management.
• Five (5) years of management-level law enforcement or public safety experience in a community college or other higher education setting.

Knowledge & Abilities

Knowledge of:

• Principles of Administration of Justice and organization. Clery Act reporting standards and procedures.
• District organization, policies, and procedures.
• Federal, State, and municipal laws and statutes.
• Principles of budget planning and administration.
• California Education Code.
• Law enforcement procedures, police methodology, and preventive security measures within a higher education environment.
• Applicable federal, state, city, and county laws, rules, and regulations, including laws of search, seizure, and arrest, legal rights of citizens, court procedures, and rules of evidence.
• Proper use and care of firearms.
• Standardized Emergency Management Systems (ICS (Incident Command System), NIMS, SEMS).
• Principles and practices of community policing, emergency management, and organizational leadership.
• Principles, practices, and techniques for criminal and civil investigations, internal affairs investigations, police background investigations, and administrative investigations.
• Training and certification requirements for law enforcement officers and support staff in compliance with State and Federal statutes.
• Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act requirements and administrative procedures.
• Crowd-control, traffic-control, and vehicle-control principles and practices.
• Recent court decisions affecting police work.
• Supervisory procedures and practices, including effective recruitment and selection; assigning and delegating work, evaluating performance, motivating employees, training and developing staff, handling grievances and imposing corrective and/or disciplinary action.
• Participatory governance, committee leadership, and other community college governance processes.

Abilities to:

• Communicate effectively and build consensus with diverse stakeholders.
• Plan, organize, direct, and manage the operations of the Bakersfield College Police and its assigned locations, including the hiring, supervision, evaluation, and discipline of assigned employees.
• Analyze complex problems and adopt effective courses of action under pressure.
• Demonstrate a high degree of integrity, ethical judgment, discretion, and accountability.
• Prepare clear, concise, and comprehensive verbal and statistical reports, manuals, and directives.
• Train, supervise, and evaluate assigned staff according to P.O.S.T. mandates, College and District policies, accepted law enforcement methods, and principles of community policing.
• Analyze, interpret, and enforce federal/state/local laws, rules, and regulations.
• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action.

Important Instructions & Additional Information

Complete applications received by the "assured consideration date" above are guaranteed to be reviewed by Human Resources. If you apply after this date, there is no guarantee that your application will be reviewed. However, we still recommend that you apply because recruitments remain open until filled. The District and/or College reserves the right to extend time limits and/or repost or restart recruitments at any point.

For all positions, sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, shall be considered a core system competency and job requirement. ()
Required Application Materials

Candidates may be required to submit any of the following materials based on the specific role. Please review the job posting and the attachments section of your application to confirm which documents are required for your submission:

• Completed Online Application
• Current resume
• Letter of interest (Cover Letter)
• Copy of legible transcripts
• Copy of Driver's License

Important Privacy Notice: Applicants are responsible for redacting or removing all sensitive personal information from all uploaded documents prior to submission. Please remove Social Security Numbers, Dates of Birth, and Applicant Photos.
References

Professional reference information will be confirmed and required upon invite to second level interview, if applicable.
Equivalency for Minimum Qualifications

Applicants for faculty and educational administrator positions in California Community Colleges are required to meet certain minimum qualifications as provided by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and detailed in the If you do not meet these minimum qualifications, you may still be eligible by completing the KernCCD Application for Equivalence process. Please see our for more information.
International or Foreign Degrees

Applicants with international or foreign degrees from colleges or universities outside of the United States must have their coursework evaluated by a professional association that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, INC. (ACEI). A copy of the evaluation must be submitted with your online application.
Accommodations

Applicants who require reasonable accommodation to participate in the selection process should contact Human Resources to make the necessary arrangements. (For more information, see our )