Chief is used with these nouns:
accountant, adviser, advocate, agent, aim, architect, assistant, attraction, attribute, bridesmaid, cause, character, characteristic, clerk, coach, competitor, complaint, concern, conductor, constable, correspondent, counsel, critic, culprit, deputy, designer, diplomat, economist, editor, enemy, engineer, executive, exponent, export, function, guest, impediment, influence, inspector, instructor, instrument, librarian, magistrate, mechanic, minister, negotiator, obstacle, officer, opponent, preoccupation, priest, prosecutor, purpose, reason, reporter, representative, researcher, rival, scientist, secretary, sponsor, steward, surgeon, suspect, target, technician, vet, veterinarian, virtue, witness

tribal, village
army, corporate, council, fire, industry, intelligence, military, party, police, security, station, union
branch, division, section
counterterrorism, education, finance, health, marketing, etc.

appoint (sb), become, name sb
Sanger was appointed chief of the Fire Department.

chief of police, chief of staff