Hamilton-Whitaker will have responsibility for titles including Woman, Woman's Own and Pick Me Up.
She starts in her new role on 24 September and will report to Fiona Dent, managing director for IPC media.
Hamilton-Whitaker will join the Connect senior management team where she will work closely with IPC Connect's senior management to "drive best practice and digital idea generation across the portfolio".
Her responsibility will span IPC Connect's websites – including market-leading women's lifestyle website Goodtoknow.co.uk – mobile, social media and digital editions.
Dent said: "Tara will be a great asset to Connect. She has done an exceptional job driving IPC Media's mobile and social presence, and the Connect portfolio will benefit from her deep knowledge, drive and passion for creating innovative digital solutions across multiple digital platforms. I look forward to welcoming her to Connect."
Hamilton-Whitaker joined IPC Media in 2006, rising through the ranks of IPC Digital to the role of digital development director, reporting to Neil Robinson, IPC Media's digital director.
She was responsible for launching IPC Media's mobile portfolio in 2010, now representing 30% of IPC's total digital traffic, and is currently responsible for IPC Media's social media strategy and digital capital investment programme.
Hamilton-Whitaker said: "I'm thrilled to be joining Connect at such an exciting time and look forward to working more closely with Fiona, the Connect senior management team and the brand teams, to build on the many digital successes we've had over the past few years."
In May, IPC appointed Mike Williams to the role of editor of NME magazine.
Follow @nickbatten2
