Chairman Steve Parish said: "This is a position I have been looking to fill for a while, someone to work with the manager, myself and Head of Recruitment, Tim Coe on all the footballing aspects of the club.
"I’m delighted that Dougie has agreed to accept the position and look forward to continuing Crystal Palace’s progression to become a solid Premier League club with the right infrastructure.”
Manager Frank de Boer said: “I always worked with a Sporting Director during my time as manager at Ajax and I felt this was a position the club needed, I am looking forward to working with Dougie in this transfer window and beyond.”