Des Moines is starting to search for its next police chief. What's the process?

The job posting to hire the next police chief of Iowa's capital city is slated to go live next month, Des Moines city officials say.

Des Moines Civil Service Commission on Tuesday approved beginning the process for recruiting the successor to Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert, who is set to retire this year after nearly a decade in charge of the department and more than three decades in law enforcement. Under Iowa Code, the commission oversees the appointment, dismissal and discipline of civil service employees such as police and fire chiefs, firefighters and police officers.

Wingert, 54, is scheduled to exit his role in October, senior Human Resources business partner Allison Lambert told the commission on Tuesday, though the exact date is unknown. The hiring process could take three to four months, Lambert said.

The Des Moines Police Department serves a population of more than 211,000 people. With 379 sworn officers and 98 civilian employees, the police department is the largest in the state of Iowa.

Here's what to know about the search for Des Moines' next police chief:

More: Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert will retire after over 3 decades in law enforcement

How will the recruitment process work?

The hiring process already has started with focus group meetings between city leaders, community stakeholders, the Civil Service Commission and an internal police department employee survey, according to Human Resources Director James Wells.

The city also hired Public Sector Search & Consulting, a California-based company that focuses exclusively on recruiting police executives, according to the firm's website. The company has helped recruit police chiefs in Dallas, Texas, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Boulder, Colorado.

The input from the stakeholder meetings will be used to create a job posting, which will be published on various sites, and passed on to Public Sector Search & Consulting to aid in the effort, Wells said. The recruitment period is slated to last about a month once the job is posted in mid-July, according to Wells.

Both internal and external candidates are welcome to apply.

Applicants will be screened for "minimum qualifications," according to a Human Resources memo, and then those who qualify will be invited to take an oral exam with the Civil Service Commission.

The commission eventually will certify a list of eligible applicants, which will then go on to the hiring manager, Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders. Sanders' appointment will go to the Des Moines City Council for a final vote, Wells said.

Will the names of the applicants be open to the public?

The list of certified candidates will be public record, according to Wells.

He added a lot of the public input is part of the "pre-work" to develop the job posting to give the city manager an idea of what the community is looking for in its next police chief.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines starts search for a new police chief. What's the process?