The City of Hendersonville, North Carolina, operating under a Council-Manager form of government, seeks a hands-on Fire Chief with a track record of building a team culture and professional fire service standards.  Passionate advocacy for the department and strong community engagement the community are hallmarks for the next chief. 

Organization and Position description and responsibilities:  The City, home to over 13,278 residents, employs 216 FTE, 49 part-time or seasonal employees.  The Fire Department is one of 10 reporting to the City Manager.  The Fire Chief will lead a department established in 1892 with 27 full -time fire fighters.     The Chief will supervise a $2.1 million budget.  The Department added a new station in 2014. The Hendersonville Fire Department serves the City and engages in mutual aid agreements to ensure adequate resource and response needs are met.  The Hendersonville Fire Department carries an ISO rating of 4.  The department provides the services of fire suppression, medical first responder, fire inspections and code enforcement, fire prevention and fire and life safety education, and community outreach programs such as smoke detectors, child safety seat inspections, and community safety training. Department apparatus includes two frontline engines, two reserve engines, one retired engine, and one frontline ladder truck. Shift personnel are assigned to the two frontline engines and the ladders truck.  The Chief is expected to be a “working chief” and must manage incidents as well as communication with citizens, Council and multiple jurisdictional agreements. 

Qualifications and Pay:  The City seeks a fire safety leader with a minimum of 10 years progressive fire safety experience and 5 years of cross-functional and progressively responsible experience including fire suppression, prevention, EMS and administrative work at rank of Captain or higher with a preference for rank of Battalion Chief or higher; a BA/BS degree is required.   EMT Basic certification or ability to obtain within twelve months of hiring is required.  Experience with volunteer fire departments and fire fighters is preferred.  The pay band is $56,000-$91,497.  Base salary and compensation are negotiable within the band based on experience and qualifications.  Residency within 15 minutes of Station 1 is required but residency within corporate limits is not required. 

To apply, you must complete an online application via Developmental Associates’ online system (or copy and paste https://www.developmentalassociates.com/client-openings/ into your browser).  Resumes may be uploaded to the system but will not be accepted in lieu of a fully completed application.    All inquiries should be emailed to Hiring@developmentalassociates.com with the position in the subject line.  

The application closing date is August 6 and an assessment center will be held in Hendersonville on September 15-16 for selected finalists. 

The City of Hendersonville is an Equal Opportunity Employer.