CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT - 10072026-81688

Opening: 10/07/2026 12:00AM CT; Closing: 10/20/2026 11:59PM CT; Location: Mountain City, TN; Department: Correction; Pre-employment drug screening and criminal background check required.

About the role

As a Correctional Lieutenant, you will play a key leadership role in ensuring safety, security, and effective daily operations within Tennessee's correctional facilities. Working as a shift supervisor or assistant shift supervisor, you will oversee Correctional Sergeants and front-line security staff, helping maintain a safe, orderly environment for inmates, employees, and the public. This position is essential to TDOC's mission of safety, accountability, and professionalism. As a Lieutenant, you will guide teams, make critical decisions, and respond to emergencies with confidence and clarity.

Responsibilities

• Supervise assigned staff and coordinate daily security operations to ensure policies, procedures, and safety protocols are followed.
• Conduct and oversee inmate and vehicle searches, shakedowns, and inspections to prevent contraband and maintain secure environments.
• Serve as a first responder during emergencies such as escapes, fires, medical incidents, or natural disasters.
• Prepare required reports such as shift logs, disciplinary reports, population records, incident documentation, and inmate movement tracking.
• Restrain, secure, and transport inmates using appropriate security and restraint equipment.
• Train staff on procedures, emergency responses, and daily operational expectations.
• Inspect facilities including grounds, fences, living areas, and equipment to identify safety issues or potential security breaches.
• Maintain accountability for radios, keys, weapons, restraints, and other assigned security equipment.
• Observe inmate behavior to ensure compliance with rules, reporting concerns as needed.
• Enter and update documentation including incidents, disciplinary actions, and daily activities in TDOC's digital systems.
• Monitor shift performance and ensure operational priorities are met without conflicts in scheduling or oversight.

Qualifications

Education equivalent to graduation from a standard high school and experience equivalent to substantial (five or more years of) full-time increasingly responsible youth or adult security experience, including two years of supervisory experience and one year of adult correctional security experience; qualifying full-time employment as a Correctional Officer with the State of Tennessee may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis; one year of experience as an Inmate Relations Coordinator may be substituted for one year of the required supervisory experience.

Necessary Special Qualifications

• Be willing to and able to qualify with, carry, and use assigned weapons;
• Be at least eighteen (18) years of age on the date of application;
• Be a citizen of the United States;
• Have a good moral character, as determined by investigation;
• Complete a criminal history disclosure form in a manner approved by the appointing authority;
• Agree to release all records involving their criminal history to the appointing authority;
• Supply a fingerprint sample in a manner prescribed by the TBI for a fingerprint based criminal history records check;
• Have no conviction for a felony or any domestic assault convictions or have been discharged under any other than honorable conditions from any branch of the United States armed forces;
• Pass a physical examination administered by a licensed physician that is consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that relates to the essential functions of the position;
• Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a licensed mental health professional that is consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that relates to the essential functions of the position;
• Submit to and pass a pre-employment screening test for use of illegal drugs;
• Possess a valid motor vehicle operator's license at the time of appointment;
• Upon appointment, successfully complete all additional prescribed course of instruction at the Tennessee Correction Academy and any and all on-line training.

Skills

• Decision Quality
• Builds Effective Teams
• Communicates Effectively
• Manages Conflict
• Drives Results
• Public Safety and Security
• Customer and Personal Service
• Law and Government
• Active Learning and Listening
• Critical Thinking
• Reading Compreh