General Description

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) serves as the Center's senior physician executive and chief medical authority. Reporting directly to the Executive Director and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CMO is responsible for the strategic leadership, clinical oversight, quality management, and medical governance of all psychiatric, nursing, and medical services provided by the Center.

The CMO provides executive leadership for medical staff, nursing services, prescribing practices, and integrated healthcare initiatives to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, evidence-based, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed services. The position is responsible for establishing and maintaining standards of medical practice, overseeing clinical quality and risk management activities, ensuring compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations, and supporting the Center's mission as a Local Mental Health Authority (LMHA), Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority (LIDDA), and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).

The CMO provides leadership and oversight to the Medical Director, Assistant Medical Director, Senior Director of Nursing, psychiatrists, advanced practice providers, and other medical personnel. The position collaborates closely with executive leadership to develop strategic initiatives, expand clinical services, improve health outcomes, strengthen community partnerships, and ensure fiscal stewardship of medical and nursing resources.

While the CMO may provide limited direct clinical services based on organizational need, the primary responsibility of the position is executive medical leadership, quality oversight, regulatory compliance, workforce development, and advancement of integrated behavioral healthcare services throughout the Center.

Education, Training, and Experience

• Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree from an accredited school of medicine.
• Current, unrestricted license to practice medicine in the State of Texas, or ability to obtain Texas licensure prior to employment.
• Board Certification in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) or equivalent recognized specialty board required.
• Completion of an accredited Psychiatry Residency Program required.
• Fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, or another behavioral health subspecialty preferred.
• Minimum of five (5) years of clinical experience treating individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED), substance use disorders (SUD), intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), or co-occurring conditions.
• Minimum of three (3) years of leadership, administrative, medical director, or supervisory experience within a behavioral health, healthcare, hospital, community mental health, or integrated care setting required.

Registration, Certification, Licensure, and Other Qualifications

• Must have and maintain a background and criminal history free from any disqualifying offenses as outlined by the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) and the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license and automobile insurance.

• Individuals with an out-of-state driver's license must be able to obtain a driver's license in the state of Texas within thirty (30) days.

• Successful completion of all position-specific training within thirty (30) days of employment and ongoing compliance with annual training requirements is required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Extensive knowledge of psychiatric medicine, behavioral healthcare systems, and evidence-based treatment practices.
• Knowledge of applicable federal and state healthcare regulations, including HHSC, TAC, CMS, and Medicaid requirements.
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic planning, and organizational development skills.
• Ability to lead and develop physicians, advanced practice providers, nursing leadership, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict resolution skills.
• Ability to balance clinical quality, regulatory compliance, operational effectiveness, and fiscal responsibility.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with executive leadership, community partners, regulatory agencies, and healthcare stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Electronic Health Records (EHRs), healthcare technology systems, and data-driven decision making.
• Commitment to trauma-informed care, recovery-oriented practices, diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural humility.
• Ability to maintain the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, confidentiality, and integrity.
• Ability to provide clinical supervision and prescriptive authority delegation in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Essential Duties

The following list outlines key responsibilities for the position; however, it is not exhaustive and does not encompass all responsibilities. Additional duties may be assigned as needed.

1. Medical Governance and Clinical Leadership

• Serves as the Center's senior physician executive and chief medical authority.
• Establishes and maintains standards of psychiatric and medical practice.
• Provides oversight of prescribing practices, medical protocols, and clinical treatment standards.
• Chairs or delegates medical staff meetings, peer review activities, and medical quality committees.
• Oversees credentialing, privileging, reappointment, and professional practice evaluations for medical providers.

2. Executive Leadership and Strategic Planning

• Serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.
• Advises the Executive Director and Board of Trustees on medical, psychiatric, clinical, and healthcare matters.
• Participates in strategic planning, service expansion, grant development, and new program implementation.
• Collaborates with community healthcare providers, hospitals, universities, and regulatory agencies.

3. Quality, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Oversees medical quality assurance and performance improvement activities.
• Participates in mortality reviews, sentinel event reviews, critical incident reviews, and clinical risk management activities.
• Monitors prescribing trends, polypharmacy reports, utilization patterns, and clinical outcome measures.
• Ensures compliance with HHSC, TAC, DEA, CMS, Medicaid, Medicare, CCBHC, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Provides oversight of infection prevention and control activities in collaboration with nursing leadership.

4. Medical Staff Leadership and Workforce Development

• Provides leadership, mentorship, coaching, and professional development for psychiatrists, APRNs, and nursing leadership.
• Assists with recruitment, retention, succession planning, and provider workforce development.
• Oversees prescriptive authority agreements and required physician supervision activities.
• Supports continuing medical education and clinical competency development.

5. Utilization Management and Clinical Resource Stewardship

• Serves as a member of the Utilization Management Committee.
• Oversees utilization review processes and clinical resource management.
• Monitors service utilization and clinical outcomes to support quality care and fiscal responsibility.
• Reviews complex clinical cases and provides consultation regarding treatment recommendations.

6. Financial and Operational Oversight

• Oversees medical and nursing budgets and assists with forecasting and resource allocation.
• Collaborates with operational leadership to maximize revenue capture and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Monitors key performance indicators related to access, productivity, quality, and clinical outcomes.

7. Community and System Collaboration

• Represents the Center in community healthcare initiatives, professional organizations, consortiums, and collaborative partnerships.
• Promotes integration of behavioral health, substance use, crisis services, primary care, and community-based services.
• Supports the Center's role as the local behavioral health authority and safety-net provider.

8. Direct Clinical Services - Limited

• Provides direct psychiatric evaluation, consultation, medication management, or emergency clinical services as operationally necessary.
• Participates in on-call coverage and clinical consultation activities as determined by organizational needs.
• Maintains clinical competency and professional licensure requirements.

1. Participates in the Center's Zero Suicide Initiative.

• Supports individuals experiencing a crisis by promptly connecting them with appropriate Center programs, such as the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT), Psychiatric Triage, Crisis Prevention services, and/or other applicable resources. Ensure seamless coordination to facilitate timely intervention.
• Remains with individuals, when deemed safe, to provide support and maintain a calm environment until specialized crisis staff or emergency personnel arrive to take over intervention efforts. Adheres to safety protocols to prevent escalation of the crisis situation.
• Participates in debriefing sessions with the immediate supervisor or designated staff following a crisis event. Collaborate with the team to review the incident, identify lessons learned, and ensure all HHSC guidelines and Center policies are followed.