The 58-year-old, who won international 84 caps, has managed London sides Queens Park Rangers and Fulham and most recently had a spell as coach of the Jordan national team.
Wilkins played as a midfielder for clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, AC Milan, QPR and Rangers.
He was appointed player manager of QPR in 1994 and has had coaching roles at Fulham, Chelsea, Watford and Millwall.
"Tim is similar to me in that he wants to win and is pretty bubbly. As soon as I spoke to him it seemed to click," Wilkins told Sky Sports.
"I've been very fortunate over my coaching career to be involved with lots of managers of a very high level. Hopefully, I can give the lads at Villa that experience."
FA Cup runners-up Villa finished 17th in the Premier League last season.
(Reporting by Michael Hann, editing by Ed Osmond)
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