The 56-year-old Scouser, who has twice worked at Liverpool, is expected to play an important role at Turf Moor and today, chief exec David Baldwin said: "We welcome Frank to the club and we feel he will be a valuable addition to our team.
"His recruitment of talent is well documented and he has huge experience in working with players from academy level all the way up to the first team. We are confident this knowledge will be a big asset throughout the spine of our club as we look to recruit players both for the present and the future."
A Liverpool fan, he eventually became chief scout at the club in 2003, spending four years in that role before moving on to Bolton as general manager for a short period and then becoming chief scout at Watford.
It was a call from Rafa Benitez in 2009 that saw him return to Anfield in 2009. He was their academy director in title but had a far reaching role and it was McParland who persuaded the club to sign Raheem Sterling. He was also a major influence in the development of other players such as Andre Wisdom and Jon Flanagan.
However, he was sacked in November 2013 along with Rodolfo Borrell as the club opted to move in a different direction but he was soon back in the game at Brentford as sporting director alongside their new manager Mark Warburton.
It's a change of direction at Griffin Park too that has seen him leave, along with Warburton and David Weir, a decision that has baffled the football world, but he's not been out of work long and is now at Burnley, working once again with Sean Dyche with the two of them having been colleagues at Watford.
Sean said today of his appointment: "As the club continues to progress I have mentioned many times that things, both on and off the pitch, are changing to further improve and strengthen us, in order to continue to achieve.
"The structure is to change to include someone who has a long and deep knowledge at varying levels of football and who can play their part in enhancing our chances going forward."