Chris Powell worked as assistant to Nigel Pearson and Steve McClaren at Derby
Former Southend United player Chris Powell has been appointed as the new manager of the League One side on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
He replaces Phil Brown, who was put on gardening leave on Wednesday after seven league defeats in eight games.
Ex-Charlton defender and boss Powell, 48, made 290 appearances for the Shrimpers between 1990 and 1996.
Southend are 20th and only one point above the drop zone after their game at Rochdale on Saturday was postponed.
Powell, capped five times by England, played for eight clubs in all, including Derby - with whom he had his most recent coaching role as assistant to Steve McClaren - before leaving in March.
He also spent just over a year in charge of Huddersfield in the Championship, but was sacked in November 2015.
Ethnic minority managers in English football
Earlier this month the Football Association said it will interview at least one applicant from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background for future roles in the England set-up.
It comes after a sports think tank reported in November that coaches from black or ethnic minority backgrounds still face "institutionally embedded barriers" in English football.
The appointment of Powell raises the number of BAME managers in the top four divisions to six.
Chris Hughton - Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League)Nuno Espirito Santo - Wolverhampton Wanderers (Championship)Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - Northampton Town (League One)Keith Curle - Carlisle United (League Two)Jack Lester - Chesterfield (League Two)
Source: bbc.com