The former Chelsea star has left his job as Leeds manager to join Newcastle and assist the board as an executive director on "football-related" matters.
New manager Kevin Keegan will have control of first-team affairs.
"This is all part of the vision that recently helped us to secure Kevin Keegan's return to the club as manager," said chairman Chris Mort.
Newcastle have also brought in Tony Jimenez as vice-president of player recruitment and Jeff Vetere from Real Madrid as technical co-ordinator.
The surprise move for Wise and his fellow new board members is believed to be designed to create a new tier of management at St James' Park.
On Monday, Keegan said he was "reluctant to tell all I know because I really do not know everything" about Wise's role but insisted he was "very happy" with the situation.
He's got a real good aura around him and it's nice to see him back
Dennis Wise on Kevin Keegan
However, it could upset Keegan, who told BBC One's Inside Sport last October he felt that kind of structure is unworkable.
When Keegan was asked about reports linking him with a return to Newcastle as director of football under then-manager Sam Allardyce, he said: "It's absolutely impossible to give Sam a job at Newcastle and then go and fetch someone who is going to be some sort of threat, it doesn't work.
"Sam would be a fool to let it happen and the guy who goes in would be a fool to accept it.
"The chairman, who is not a fool, would be a fool to go and do it, too. It doesn't work."
But Mort, who was appointed after billionaire Mike Ashley bought the club, believes there is a need for someone with a knowledge about football within the club's hierarchy.
He added: "Two of the conclusions of our strategic review, since acquiring the club, were that the club would benefit from having a football person involved at board level, which it has not had historically.
