Have you dreamed of working at Philmont but can’t commit to the whole summer? Check out these short-term volunteer opportunities!
Volunteers will need to submit an online Seasonal Staff Application complete with a resume and references. By selecting one of the following positions, you will indicate your interest in a short-term volunteer position to the respective hiring manager. Provide your dates of availability (most volunteer positions last for 1-2 weeks total). If you have multiple windows of availability, feel free to include this information in an attached cover letter.
If you are available for the entire summer, you can turn any position into a volunteer opportunity. Submit an online application and indicate either in a cover letter or during your phone interview that you wish to spend your employment term as a volunteer seasonal staff member ($0 salary).
Positions marked with an * are specialized and require the volunteer to have several years in the profession before being considered.
Food Service Volunteers help the Dining Hall Staff provide a quality dining experience to Philmont Scout Ranch participants and staff members in assisting in the operation of the Philmont Dining Hall. They need to be available 2 or more consecutive weeks.
Volunteer Infirmary Physicians have the opportunity to spend 1-2 weeks at Philmont and share their knowledge with aspiring med students.
*Applicants must be a licensed Physician (MD or DO) in good standing in their home state and be able to obtain a temporary “Camp” license from the New Mexico Department of Health.
Maintenance Volunteers perform routine preventative maintenance and repairs to Philmont structures, mechanical equipment and utility systems. The objective is to become effective members of the maintenance team, keeping public buildings and facilities in the Base Camp area fully operational. As a team addresses cleanliness of shower houses by cleaning them twice daily.
Skills in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, welding, or possessing a practical mechanical aptitude are a plus but not required. They need to be available 2 or more weeks.
The National Scouting Museum now calls Philmont HOmE!
Volunteer your time as a Museum Docent and offer your personal assistance to the thousands of visitors as they explore the exhibit galleries, library, and other public areas. Exhibits include content from BSA history, Order of the Arrow history, Native American culture, Western expansion, fire ecology, and artwork.
Docents visit Philmont for 1 week at a time.
Visiting Archaeologists are professional archaeologists or those with substantial experience in archaeological methods, including excavation, and public communication of past human lifeways.
The objective is to inspire Scouts and the backcountry staff with an understanding of archaeological methods, ethics, and the value of the past for the present.
Visiting Archaeologists will visit Philmont for at minimum 1 week at a time.
If you are a professional forester, join our team to spend a week at the Demonstration Forest teaching our participants about Philmont’s forest health and land management.
Please reach out to Mary Stuever (Visiting Forester Coordinator) at mary.stuever@emnrd.nm.gov first to be assigned a week and to have your professional credentials confirmed. Then submit your online application.
Visiting Foresters will visit Philmont for at minimum 1 week at a time.
Give Philmont participants an understanding of the local geology and share your enthusiasm for the geologic profession as a Volunteer Geologist!
Visiting Geologists will visit Philmont for at minimum 1 week at a time.
Volunteer Food Packers are responsible for helping all distribution to and from the commissary – the central location of food deliveries and production at Philmont. The Commissary asks that the Volunteer Food Packer be available for 2 weeks or more at a time.
The Welcome Center Volunteer is responsible for assisting in the operation of the Welcome Center where participants in individual and crew treks arrive, depart for the trail, and leave for home as well as the trailbound and homebound tent cities where they reside. Must be available for at least 2 weeks at a time.