The association’s executive committee consists of eight vice-presidents and the president, Professor Jürgen Mlynek. The vice-presidents advise, represent and assist the president in performing his duties, which include implementing programme-oriented funding, coordinating programme development across all the research fields and developing an overarching strategy. Each of the vice-presidents serves as the coordinator of one of the six research fields at the Helmholtz Association. The executive committee also includes two administrative vice-presidents.
In setting research priorities and ensuring that funding is awarded on a competitive basis, the Senate, which consists of external representatives, and the Senate commissions perform an important function at the Helmholtz Association. The Senate commissions are made up of permanent representatives and alternating members (depending on the specific research field under discussion). 

(As of December 2011)