Former Scotland head coach Shelley Kerr has been confirmed as Heart of Midlothian’s technical development manager.

The 55-year-old will work exclusively with the club’s male players and focus on the transition from academy and B team level to the first team.

Kerr, who was in charge of the women’s national side from 2017-20, will also assist new B team head coach Angus Beith.

“I would like to thank Graeme, the football department and the board for the opportunity to work in such an important role at the club,” she said.

“I am fortunate to have undertaken a variety of leadership roles across men’s and women’s football since I retired as a player and I am excited to bring the accumulation of that knowledge and experience to Heart of Midlothian.”

Kerr has experience in men’s football from her time in charge at Stirling University.

After 15 months leading the women’s side at Arsenal, she spent three seasons with the Lowland League outfit before taking on the Scotland job.

She led Scotland to the 2019 World Cup but left in December 2020 after failing to reach Euro 2021.

In May 2021 Kerr was appointed technical lead of England Women’s ‘how we play’ coaching strategy.

“Shelley’s extensive experience and skill set is ideally suited to this new role,” added sporting director Graeme Jones.

“She will have an overview of the talent pipeline – of coaches as well as players – but fundamentally the job is to make the route towards the first team clearer for those on the journey

“As well as her coaching experience and Uefa Pro Licence, what made Shelley stand out was the work undertaken with the English FA in taking the principle of a high-performance environment and implementing key physical, tactical and technical strategies and objectives.”