Granville County has announced that Jennifer Baird will become the county’s finance director and she will begin her new job on April 15.
Baird joins Granville County after three years as senior fiscal analyst and accounting operations supervisor for the city of Durham. With 19 years of state and local government finance experience, Baird will lead operations in the county’s finance office as Steve McNally transitions to his retirement in the coming months, according to a press statement from Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood.
“I am thrilled and honored to have been selected as Granville County’s next Finance Director,” said Baird. “I look forward to working with county administration, our board of commissioners, and staff from all county departments to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly, and the county’s finances are protected. Granville County has a sterling reputation of financial management, and I am proud to join and continue that legacy.”
During her time in Durham, Baird helped develop the personnel and operating budget for the Water and Sewer Fund and managed all operations of the city’s Utility Finance Department. Prior to her time in Durham, Baird served as Business Officer II, Assistant Finance Manager and other accounting and finance positions for the State of North Carolina departments of Health and Human Services, Public Instruction and Agriculture and Consumer Services.
She was responsible for preparing state budget requests and certifications for various grant programs and managed accounts payable operations for the statewide Child Nutrition grant. She also served as the Chief Finance Officer for Granville-Vance Public Health for two years in between her time with the state and the city of Durham. Baird began her career as a family preservation Caseworker for Person County Cooperative Extension before moving into accounting.
A Person County native, Baird graduated from Person High School in Roxboro and holds degrees in Accounting and Human Services from Vance-Granville Community College and Piedmont Community College. She is also completing the North Carolina Finance Officer Certification Course at the School of Government at UNC. Baird and her family moved to Granville County in 1993 and reside n the Berea community.
