The Brisbane Lions have appointed former AFL Players Association boss Rob Kerr to the new role of national talent manager in the wake of the shock departure of the influential Graeme Allan.

The Lions held a review of their football operations after "Gubby" Allan ended his stellar 11-year stint and linked with AFL newcomers Team GWS in February.

As a result, Kerr was appointed to the new role that oversees recruitment and retention, talent ID and salary cap negotiations as well as the newly formed Lions Academy.

Kerr spent two seasons as an assistant under legendary Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy from 1998 before joining the AFLPA as the executive director of player development.

In June 2000, he replaced Andrew Demetriou as the AFLPA CEO - a role he held for more than four years.

Lions coach Michael Voss said on Monday that Kerr would be based in Melbourne when he officially started on July 1.

"We saw an opportunity to revamp how we do things and look beyond some of the more traditional AFL models," Voss said.

"The next five years in particular will be critical with regards to recruitment and list management, so we conducted a thorough process to ensure we found the best person for the job.

"To have someone like that with that sort of extensive experience and thoroughness and attention to detail I think is going to set us in good stead for the next period."

Despite Kerr's glowing resume, he does have big shoes to fill.

Allan linked with the Lions in 1998 with coach Leigh Matthews and oversaw their three-straight AFL premierships from 2001.

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