Managing security operations across hundreds of contractors and dozens of client locations requires more than scheduling software. Field operations coordinators at Solaren Risk Management function as the operational backbone connecting executive leadership, client requirements, and frontline security personnel. These positions demand expertise in security protocols, personnel management, and real-time problem-solving across Tennessee and the southeastern United States.
Jack K. Byrd III built Solaren Risk Management from a two-person startup in 2017 to a company employing approximately 300 contractors. Rapid expansion created demands for middle management capable of maintaining quality standards while scaling operations. Field operations coordinators emerged as the solution to this organizational challenge.
What Does a Field Operations Coordinator Actually Do?
Field operations coordinators manage numerous contracts simultaneously, each with distinct security requirements. One coordinator oversees close to 10 hotel properties in a specific Nashville area, handling all personnel decisions for those locations. “One of ’em, for example, has got almost all the hotels that we have under him, which is close to 10 properties that I know of in a certain area, part of Nashville that he manages completely alone,” Bethany Gill, Solaren’s Chief Operating Officer, explained.
Contract management extends beyond simple guard placement. Coordinators maintain relationships with client leadership, conduct regular site visits, and ensure coverage meets contractual obligations. Properties requiring 24/7 security demand coordinators juggle shift schedules, handle call-outs, and arrange last-minute replacements when contractors face emergencies.
Location-specific requirements add complexity:
- Armed versus unarmed designations based on client needs
- Active shooter certifications for school assignments
- Dallas Law credentials for bar security in Nashville
- State-specific licensing requirements across multiple jurisdictions
“Some people, based on your license, you may not be able to work some jobs. For example, you may be an armed security officer, but you will not be able to work at a school because you don’t have your active shooter certification,” Gill noted.
Coordinators verify contractor credentials before assigning shifts. State licensing requirements, training certifications, and background check statuses all require monitoring. Expired licenses or lapsed certifications create immediate staffing gaps that coordinators must fill while ensuring compliance.
How Do Coordinators Prepare for Large-Scale Events?
Large-scale events represent peak operational complexity. Nashville’s marathon, music festivals, and downtown celebrations require coordinating dozens of security personnel across multiple zones. Preparation begins months before event day.
“Usually what we do, we spend months in advance preparing for an event,” Gill described. “We make sure that everybody knows where they’re going to be, knows what equipment they’re going to be issued.”
Equipment distribution falls under coordinator oversight:
- Radio systems with proper channel configurations
- Surveillance gear and monitoring equipment
- Barricade markers and crowd control tools
- Specialized technology for specific venue needs
Radio protocols demand particular attention—contractors need training on channel switching, communication etiquette, and understanding that clients and law enforcement monitor security frequencies.
“Radio etiquette is very important because every contractor out there, they may be just someone who this is their first time working in security. They have no prior experience with anything like that. They’ve never even seen a radio in real life before.” – Bethany Gill, COO
Action plans detail every position, evacuation route, and emergency protocol. Coordinators brief supervisors who then cascade information to contractors. “We disseminate that information through our supervisors and our supervisors are very qualified in terms of coaching their staff. They do a really good job,” Gill noted.
Site-specific supervisors report to field operations coordinators during events. Problems escalate through this chain—contractors contact site supervisors, who reach coordinators for issues requiring executive decisions. “Chain of command is definitely something that we try to convey,” Gill emphasized.
What Does Weekly Site Supervision Involve?
Field operations coordinators conduct weekly inspections at assigned locations. These visits serve multiple purposes: verifying contractors maintain professional standards, addressing client concerns directly, and identifying operational improvements.
“They do site checks every week and they’ll disseminate that information. This is how you use this, this is how you walk through this step. You’re going to need this when we come up to this event,” Gill described.
Site checks provide opportunities for real-time training. Coordinators demonstrate new equipment, clarify procedures, and reinforce best practices. Face-to-face interaction builds rapport that digital communication cannot replicate.
Client relationship management happens during these visits. Coordinators solicit feedback about contractor performance, discuss security concerns, and propose solutions to emerging problems. Strong client relationships often result from coordinator attentiveness to concerns before they escalate.
Documentation from site checks informs performance evaluations. Coordinators note contractor strengths, identify improvement areas, and recognize exceptional work. This information feeds quarterly and annual reviews that determine awards and pay increases at Solaren Risk Management.
How Does Technology Support Remote Coordination?
Mobile-based systems allow coordinators to manage operations from the field rather than requiring office presence. Solaren implemented platforms consolidating contractor documents, timesheets, schedules, and communication in single applications.
“We have one platform that we use where we keep track of all the documents for our contractors all of the time sheets, the schedules, everything all in one app,” Gill explained. Contractors access their schedules directly, select available shifts, and submit required documentation through mobile interfaces.
Phone systems transitioned from landlines to mobile platforms recognizing that coordinators work primarily off-site. “Everything that we use for our phone and communication and all that stuff is mobile based because all of our operations team is out in the field almost all the time,” Gill noted.
Digital tools enable:
- Real-time schedule adjustments and shift coverage
- Instant communication between coordinators and contractors
- Document verification and compliance tracking
- Incident reporting and documentation
- Performance monitoring across multiple locations
Issues arise when technology creates information overload. “Nobody wants to hunt through a month’s worth of text messages to find that,” Gill observed regarding police reports contractors send via messaging apps. Solaren explored phone systems with better media organization features to address this challenge.
How Do People Become Field Operations Coordinators?
Most field operations coordinators began as contractors working client sites. Promotion from within ensures coordinators understand frontline realities and have proven themselves under operational conditions.
“Nine times out of 10, it comes from people who have worked for us out in the field and have really done a good job,” Gill explained. Contractors demonstrating reliability, judgment, and initiative earn opportunities to advance into supervisory roles.
The typical career progression:
- Security Contractor – Frontline work at client locations
- Site Supervisor – Lead security at a single location
- Field Operations Coordinator – Manage multiple contracts and locations
“That location still needs a supervisor, somebody that people can talk to, bounce ideas off of, figure out what to do in certain situations, and that person is a point of contact for law enforcement if needed,” Gill described regarding site supervisor roles.
Exceptional site supervisors progress to field operations coordinator positions. “If we have a new hire who ends up working their way up, they do a really good job. They’re always on time. They always have just a knack for security. They work their way up to a supervisor at a certain location. They do really well in that position, prove themselves invaluable during events. They volunteer for things that they need that we have going on and eventually after. And sometimes it doesn’t take that long if they just got a knack for it,” Gill noted.
Panel interviews assess coordinator candidates. Multiple staff members conduct individual interviews before gathering for group evaluation. “We have them talk with multiple people individually, and then we have a panel interview where everybody sits together from both the admin and operations side, regardless of where they’re going into to talk to them, bounce ideas off them,” Gill explained.
Interview questions probe situational judgment and technical knowledge. “Hey, how would you handle this situation? Or Hey, this is something that I run into regularly, what would you do in that situation? Or do you know how to work with this system and stuff like that,” Gill described regarding typical questioning approaches.
What Happens During Emergency Deployments?
Hurricane Milton in October 2024 demonstrated how coordinators adapt to emergency deployments. Florida properties needed supplemental armed security during evacuation periods when looting risks increased.
“We ended up taking a command center down there and we had multiple vehicles so we could patrol the properties. We had to gather as many people as we could to go down there,” Gill recalled. Field operations coordinators managed recruitment, credential verification, and logistics for the deployment.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was predicted to produce 17 to 25 named storms, making emergency preparedness critical for security operations.
Existing client locations still required coverage during the Florida response. Coordinators balanced competing demands—maintaining Tennessee obligations while staffing emergency operations hundreds of miles away. “We have locations here that we can’t just pull people from because those locations still need security,” Gill explained.
Social media outreach and email campaigns recruited qualified contractors willing to deploy. Coordinators reviewed applications, verified certifications, and organized transportation. “I was in charge of doing that. Mostly it was sending out forms through social media and email blasts and all that kind of stuff, getting people who are qualified, reviewing their documents, making sure that they were actually legit,” Gill described.
Deployment execution required coordinating equipment transport, establishing command centers, and implementing patrol schedules. “The deployment was actually pretty smooth, and the client was very happy with our services down there,” Gill noted.
How Do Weekly Operations Meetings Function?
Field operations coordinators gather every Tuesday at 11 a.m. for operations meetings. These sessions bring together the entire leadership and operations team to review incidents, discuss personnel issues, and coordinate upcoming activities.
“Everybody, in terms of leadership and operations meets together today is actually the day of our operations meeting every week. So at 11 every day they all get together in the same room. They talk about things, go over everything, get on the same page,” Gill explained.
Incident reports receive scrutiny during these meetings. Contractors submit detailed documentation about altercations, medical emergencies, property damage, and policy violations. Coordinators present facts, leadership evaluates circumstances, and collective decisions determine appropriate responses.
“We’ll have a meeting about whether or not we should hang on to that contractor. If they did something that was genuinely their fault, then we’re going to have to consider maybe letting ’em go depending on the severity of it,” Gill described regarding personnel decisions.
Performance evaluations inform recognition decisions. Coordinators identify contractors deserving awards at the annual Christmas party. “If somebody based on those performance evaluations throughout the year has just done an exceptional job, they’ll get an award, which usually correlates with some kind of pay boost,” Gill noted.
Strategic planning happens during operations meetings:
- New contract opportunities and client prospects
- Staffing challenges and recruitment strategies
- Training needs and professional development
- Operational improvements and technology adoption
- Multi-state expansion coordination
Bethany Gill, as COO, leads these sessions with input from coordinators who possess ground-level operational intelligence.
What Challenges Come with Multi-State Expansion?
Solaren’s growth into North Carolina and other southeastern states created additional complexity for coordination efforts. “We’re working on North Carolina right now, and so we have plenty of people going out there all the time going to these locations, hiring people,” Gill explained.
Distance complicates management. Field operations coordinators cannot conduct weekly site visits when properties sit hundreds of miles away. “It’s been interesting dealing with that aspect, but we have a lot of good systems that we have in place to manage those people,” Gill noted.
Remote hiring requires coordinators verify credentials without in-person interviews. Phone conversations and video calls replace face-to-face assessments. “It’s definitely a work in progress in terms of streamlining that communication, but our supervisors do a really good job,” Gill observed.
Local hiring at distant locations provides the most sustainable staffing model. “We’ll try to hire people on location for different contracts, especially if it’s outside of our headquarters scope of focus,” Gill explained. Coordinators recruit, onboard, and train personnel who live near client sites rather than deploying Tennessee-based contractors long-term.
State regulatory variations demand coordinator expertise:
- Tennessee requires four hours of unarmed security training
- Each state imposes distinct licensing requirements
- Training mandates vary by jurisdiction
- Background check standards differ across state lines
- Continuing education requirements change by location
Coordinators ensure compliance while maintaining service quality standards across geographic boundaries. Understanding regulatory frameworks prevents legal violations that could jeopardize contracts or expose the company to liability.
Why Choose a Career as a Field Operations Coordinator?
Field operations coordinator positions offer advancement opportunities beyond frontline security work. Compensation increases reflect additional responsibilities. Management experience opens doors to further career progression within Solaren or the broader security industry.
Work variety appeals to individuals who prefer dynamic environments over static posts. “He’s the one who manages all the people that work at those locations. And so it’s a lot of flexibility and adaptability that they need,” Gill described regarding coordinator role demands.
Problem-solving challenges provide professional satisfaction. Coordinators tackle staffing puzzles, client relationship issues, and operational improvements daily. Success requires creativity, judgment, and resilience under pressure.
Leadership development happens through mentorship from Jack Byrd and senior management. “We’re very proud of our supervisors because they’re able to manage that many locations,” Gill noted. Recognition from executive leadership reinforces coordinator value to organizational success.
Jack K. Byrd III’s vision for Solaren emphasizes creating career pathways rather than dead-end jobs. His law enforcement background—advancing from intern to Corporal within one year at Davidson County Sheriff’s Office—demonstrated that merit-based promotion builds stronger organizations.
Field operations coordinators embody this philosophy. Their role transforms Solaren’s rapid growth from organizational chaos into manageable expansion. Coordinators provide the structure, oversight, and leadership that allow 300 contractors to deliver consistent security services across multiple states while maintaining the professional standards that built Solaren’s reputation in the private security industry.
