Kean arrives at the club with a wealth of experience as both a manager and a coach at an elite level and has a proven track record of developing young talent.
The 54-year-old joins at an exciting time for the club and completes a new structure that will see him work alongside First Team Manager Jack Ross and Chief Executive Ben Kensell.
After a 10-year professional playing career, the Glaswegian began coaching at Reading FC before moving to Fulham to head up their Academy in 2000.
During his time leading the Fulham Academy, Kean helped to develop a number of talented youngsters into First Team regulars. He was then promoted to the role of Assistant Manager with the Cottagers where he stayed until 2007.
Following a spell with Real Sociedad in Spain, he returned to the UK with Coventry City where he worked with future stars such as Jordan Henderson, Kasper Schmeichel and Scott Dann.
In 2009 he moved to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers where he brought through a number of promising players to the First Team including Phil Jones, Grant Hanley, Jason Lowe and Junior Hoilett. He was named Caretaker Manager at Ewood Park in 2010, eventually taking the role on a full-time basis.
Since his time at Blackburn, Kean has managed DPMM FC in Brunei, winning the Singapore League Cup in 2014 and the Singapore Premier League in 2015.
Most recently, Kean has worked with Melbourne Victory in the Australian A-League and the Scottish Football Association as a Coach Educator and Assessor, where he mentored young, aspiring coaches within the organisation’s Coach Education Programme.
Speaking to hibernianfc.co.uk, Kean said: “I’m delighted to be joining Hibernian FC at this exciting time to build, lead, and develop the Academy set-up.
“It’s a completely new role that matches my expertise in player development and having managed successfully at a high-level, I have the knowledge, vision and skillset to build a competitive development squad at Hibernian, and ensure it performs to its fullest potential.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with Jack Ross and his coaching team to successfully develop the club’s Academy. We will be introducing some changes that’ll help establish and execute an effective pathway programme for young players to play and perform successfully in the first team squad.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to come back home to Scotland to focus on domestic and overseas talent identification and development. It’s my passion and I’m convinced that player talent exists in Scotland that could quickly and effectively be developed through a programme of innovative coaching. This will provide a sustainable pool of talented players for the first team here at Hibernian FC.
“I’m looking forward to getting started and firmly believe that I can make an instant impact as the new Academy Director.”
“We are delighted to announce Steve as our new Academy Director, a role which completes the structure of our football department,” said Hibs CEO Ben Kensell.
“We were very particular when recruiting for this role and wanted someone with a clear set of credentials to help move us forward as a club.
“Steve has a number of different skills that lends himself perfectly for the role of Academy Director, alongside having the ability to assist across a number of different elements in the football department.
“To bring someone like Steve with his experience, coaching nous and credibility to the club is a big step forward and is really exciting, especially for our young players, and we look forward to working with him.”
First Team Manager Jack Ross said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Steve as he develops our Academy and Development teams.
“I have no doubt that his experience and attributes will be of major benefit to the club as we look to continue to produce good young players.”
We’d like to welcome Steve to Easter Road and look forward to a bright future for the Development Squad and Academy under his guidance.
