Chief Psychiatrist

Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Austin, TX
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 25-10155
Department: Sheriff
Opening Date: 05/28/2026
Closing Date: Continuous


Job Summary
The Chief Psychiatrist provides clinical oversight and strategic leadership for psychiatric services within the Travis County Jail and Correctional Complex. This senior role is responsible for shaping a culture of patient-centered care, aiming to establish a new standard for excellence in correctional behavioral health.

Working as a key member of a multidisciplinary team, the Chief Psychiatrist collaborates with:

• Psychologists
• Medical providers and 24-hour nursing staff
• Social Workers and Professional Counselors
• Correctional Officers
• Inmate Programming Staff and Chaplains

Travis County offers a premier Total Rewards package that is designed to support your long-term success and well-being. This comprehensive benefits program includes:

• A highly-rated retirement plan
• Generous paid time off, including vacation and sick leave, 3 personal holidays, and 12 company holidays
• Longevity pay and tuition reimbursement
• Full medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Access to a free employee health care clinic

Distinguishing Characteristics

This is a job classification within the Medical job family. The incumbent must be licensed to practice as a medical doctor in the State of Texas. It is distinguished from the Psychiatrist in that it is a supervisory position for the Psychiatrist, contract partners, Advanced Nurse Practitioners and in the required education and preferred certifications.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership for a team of psychiatric providers, ensuring alignment with the Travis County Sheriff's Office mission to deliver exceptional patient care and optimize clinical operations.
• Manages a patient caseload by conducting timely initial and follow-up psychiatric assessments, overseeing medication management, and developing comprehensive treatment plans.
• Serves as an expert witness by completing applications for court-ordered treatment and providing courtroom testimony as required.
• Maintains meticulous records of each patient's visit in the electronic health record, ensuring compliance with all health information management standards.
• Provides hands-on leadership in all aspects of team management, including provider hiring, retention, coaching, and performance management.
• Supervises and guides the prescriptive authority of mid-level psychiatric providers.
• Ensures optimal clinical operations by managing provider schedules, advocating for their needs, and guaranteeing the delivery of excellent patient outcomes.
• Partners with the Director of Inmate Behavioral Health to strategically plan, implement, and evaluate clinical services, driving continuous operational improvements and efficiency.
• Creates and standardizes evidence-based treatment protocols to ensure the delivery of high-quality clinical care that aligns with or exceeds community standards.
• Manages court applications for outpatient, inpatient hospitalization and compelled medication.
• Drives professional growth across the organization by developing and presenting a minimum of two continuing education seminars annually for behavioral health, medical, and correctional staff.
• Actively participates in key departmental and clinical functions, including Treatment Team meetings, Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, Medical Provider meetings and Trauma-Informed Care committee
• Serves as a key public ambassador for the Travis County Sheriff's Office, promoting a progressive and positive approach to inmate mental health.
• Actively partners with community organizations to expand and enhance services for inmates both during incarceration and upon their return to the community.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

Education and Experience:
Graduation from an accredited school of medicine with a degree as a medical doctor including residency in the field of psychiatry, AND more than five (5) years practicing medicine as a Board-Certified Psychiatrist with increasing responsibility in clinical and administrative supervision of mid-level providers and overseeing clinical operations with a diverse population in a correctional facility, psychiatric outpatient clinic, or diagnostic clinic.

Licenses, Registrations, Certifications, or Special Requirements:

Licensed to practice medicine in the State of Texas.

Current DPS and DEA license in the State of Texas.

Board Certified in Psychiatry.

Valid Texas Driver's License.
Applicants are required to attach a resume with the online application.

Preferred:
Board Certified in Forensic Psychiatry

Board Certified in Addiction Medicine

Bilingual in Spanish
Knowledge of:

• Psychiatric practices for inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Correctional Healthcare principles and practices.
• Legal and ethical standards of care, including use of emergency medications and court-ordered medications.
• Electronic Health Records (EHR) and standard office software packages.
• Trauma Informed Systems of Care.
• Planning and budgetary processes within a governmental framework

Skill in:

• Leading and supervising a diverse team.
• Patiently caring and treating patients with mental illness.
• Mentoring and teaching clinical and non-clinical students.
• Attentive and authentic communication including use of de-escalation techniques.
• Fostering a culture of positivity and encouraging growth.
• Utilizing data to inform decisions and using results for quality improvement.
• Using technology to enhance workflow processes.
• Motivating and empowering patients and staff to work towards their best self.

Ability to:

• Develop, present, and implement a long-term vision.
• Apply general rules to specific problems, identify innovative solutions and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and cultivate respectful professional relationships.
• Network with community partners to solve problems and enhance community behavioral health services.
• Present complex and technical problems to lay decision makers and influencers.
• Advocate for policy and legislative change.

Work Environment & Other Information
Physical requirements include the ability to lift/carry minimum of 35 pounds and may be required to lift/carry up to 50 pounds occasionally, visual acuity, speech and hearing, hand and eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate a computer and office equipment. Subject to standing, walking, sitting, repetitive motion, reaching, climbing stairs, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, pushing, pulling, balancing, client/customer contact, squatting to perform the essential functions. Subject to contact with communicable diseases, radiation, hazardous waste, human fecal matter, and foul odors.


Travis County employees play an important role in business continuity. As such, employees can be assigned to business continuity efforts outside of normal job functions.
This job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The essential duties, functions and responsibilities and overtime eligibility may vary based on the specific tasks assigned to the position.

Work Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Rotating on-call. Occasional holidays, nights, and weekends.

Location: Austin, TX

Department: Sheriff

Criminal Background Check, Credit Check, Drug Test, Alcohol Test, Driving Record, Education, and Employment History Check Required.
Benefits
Employment at Travis County comes with a full array of benefits. We offer comprehensive health insurance, a no-cost, on-site Health and Wellness clinic, longevity pay, paid vacations, sick time and personal holidays, not to mention an industry competitive salary structure and a friendly, stable work environment.
FY2026 Travis County Benefit Guide

In this valuable you will find benefit summaries, eligibility requirements, costs, contact numbers and addresses as well as other general information on the benefits available to Travis County Employees and Retirees.

Credit Union
Employees may join the Travis County Credit Union which offers low-interest loans, savings plans through payroll deduction, safe deposit boxes and other benefits.

Deferred Compensation
Employees may enroll in a tax- free sheltered investment plan through payroll deduction.

Direct Deposit
Employees may sign up for direct bank deposit.

Employee Assistance Program
Travis County provides a confidential counseling and referral service free of charge to county employees and their family.

Employee Organizations
Membership in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union is available through payroll deduction.

Employee Health & Wellness Clinic
Employees may access the clinic for a variety of wellness program and health care services with no co-pay, no deductible and no co-insurance costs.

Holidays
An average of eleven paid holidays are designated by the Travis County Commissioners Court at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Insurance
Employees may select from four plans: an Exclusive Physician Organization (EPO), Choice Plus Preferred Physician Organization (PPO), Consumer Choice or a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). All four options include a Pharmacy Plan. Travis County's current policy is to pay 100% of the employee's health insurance premium for the Consumer Choice and HDHP. Employees will pay a premium for both the EPO and PPO. Other insurance benefits include $50,000 Basic Life and AD&D paid by the County.

The following benefits are employee paid:

• Dental
• Vision
• Supplemental Life, AD&D
• Dependent Life
• Short Term Disability
• Long Term Disability
• Long Term Care

New employees are covered on the first day of the month following 28 calendar days of employment.

Longevity
Longevity pay is paid for each year completed after three years of continuous service. Peace Officers in a law enforcement activity, whose job requires state peace officer certification, receive pay after one year of certification.

On the regular payday on or after the employee's fourth and subsequent adjusted service dates, he or she receives a single payment for the previous year.

Parking
A limited number of assigned parking spaces are available to employees in the Courthouse Complex.

Personal Holidays
Regular, full-time employees are eligible for up to three paid personal holidays each calendar year. Part-time employees shall be granted personal holidays on a prorated basis. New employees earn personal holidays for the calendar year in which he/she begins employment, based on the month in which employment begins:

January - March

3 personal holidays
April - June

2 personal holidays


July - September

1 personal holiday
October - December

None

New employees are eligible to take personal holidays after 90 days of employment.
Retirement
Travis County is a member of the Texas County & District Retirement System with mandatory participation by certain classes of employees. Seven percent (7%) of the gross salary is deducted each pay period. An employee is fully vested after eight years of service. Benefits are prorated for part-time employees.

Sick Leave
Regular employees earn sick leave at a rate of eight hours per month with unlimited accrual during employment. Part-time employees earn sick leave on a pro-rated basis.

Parental Leave
Each Full-time Paid Parental Leave Eligible (PPL) Employee is entitled to a total of 320 hours of Paid Parental Leave in a 12 month period. Paid Parental Leave for Part-time PPL Eligible Employees is prorated based on the number of hours that they are regularly scheduled to work.

Tuition Refund
Certain classes of full-time employees may receive reimbursement for fees associated with pre-approved, job related course work completed satisfactorily.

Vacation
Based on years of county service, regular, full-time employees earn vacation time at the following rates:

0 to 5 years

4.0 hours per pay period


6 to 10 years

4.5 hours per pay period


11 to 15 years

5.0 hours per pay period


16 to 20 years

5.5 hours per pay period


21 plus years

6.0 hours per pay period

Part-time employees earn vacation leave on a pro-rated basis.
Workers' Compensation
The county provides all employees workers' compensation coverage with benefits in accordance with state statute, if the employee sustains an injury out of, or in the course of work.
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A detailed resume is required for the application to be considered. Have you submitted your resume with the online application?

• Yes
• No

Required Question