He will leave his job with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) in order to join the Irish Revolution at the Stadium of Light.
Keane said: "Neil Bailey, who I know from my United days, will be looking to come on board to work with the first team.
"He'll work with Tony [Loughlan] and myself with the first team. He was up here the other day with his wife having a look around and we're delighted that he has agreed to come on board."
Keane added: "It's all part of the on-going process of trying to get things right at the club.
"We're getting there. It takes a while and Rome wasn't built in a day, although Brian Clough said it would have been if he was on the job. There's still plenty of room for improvement."