Consultancy for an Improved Cookstove Expert

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Consultant Hiring- Improved Cookstove Expert

PR741609

1. Background of Save the Children 

Save the Children is the leading global independent organization for children. Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach. 

We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. 

Our vision: A world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. 

Our mission: To inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting changes in their lives. 

Our values: Accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity, and integrity. 

We are committed to ensuring our resources are used as efficiently as possible to focus them on achieving maximum impact for children.

2. Background information/context 

Save the Children Nepal, with support from Save the Children Global Venture (SCGV), is implementing the Improved Cookstove Project in Karnali Province of Nepal. The project promotes clean cooking solutions to reduce household dependence on firewood, improve health outcomes, and contribute to climate change mitigation. 

The project builds on earlier feasibility studies and pilots in Surkhet and Jajarkot and is designed for registration either as a Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) project under the Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG) or an Article 6.2 project. It aims to scale to at least 10,000 households across Surkhet, Dailekh, and Jajarkot districts of Karnali province. Target areas are characterized by heavy reliance on solid biomass, deforestation pressure, and indoor air pollution from traditional cooking. Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) are central partners in household identification, stove distribution, and adoption monitoring.

The project has completed an initial pilot that distributed 2 stove types (ceramic and metal) to 112 households in Barahatal Rural Municipality of Surkhet and Chhedagadh Municipality of Jajarkot and following up through regular surveys and collection of sensor data from selected stoves. This early pilot has confirmed that a key challenge for the Improved Cookstove (ICS) Project is ensuring adoption and sustained usage. A follow-up behavioural survey found that there were factors affecting adoption and usage at the geographic, social and household level; including, ease of firewood collection, availability of LPG, entrenched cooking preferences, the need to chop firewood into smaller pieces, stove maintenance requirements, and social behavior patterns that influence daily practices. This show adoption is not only a matter of technology but also of usability, cultural habits, and household economics.

The project is planning a second pilot distribution, in 3-4 new locations, trialing 2 new metal cookstove models. Save the Children requires dedicated technical support to strengthen partner capacity for these distribution, follow-up and monitoring activities; ensuring that households are effectively guided in the transition to improved cookstoves. This includes the development of Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) materials to promote awareness and behavioral change, systematic monitoring of stove adoption, and analysis of both sensor data and KOBO monitoring data to generate evidence on usage patterns and performance. The findings will be compiled into reports and used to inform strategies for scaling. This technical support role is therefore critical to enabling effective stove distribution, achieving high adoption and regular usage, ensuring that the ICS Project delivers measurable benefits in terms of reduced firewood consumption, improved health outcomes, and enhanced climate resilience.

3. Objectives of the Assignment

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide technical and operational support to partners and field teams for the effective implementation of the Improved Cookstove (ICS) Project in Karnali Province. The role is designed to ensure that stove distribution transforms into sustained adoption and generates measurable outcomes, and evidence.

The specific objectives of the assignment are to:

• Strengthen partner capacity in ICS user demonstration, stove distribution, and adoption follow‑up, ensuring that households are guided through behavioral and technical barriers to sustained use
• Ensure systematic monitoring and analysis of ICS sensor data and KOBO tool monitoring data, generating credible evidence on stove performance, usage patterns, and adoption trends.
• Compile and synthesize weekly updates from partners into consolidated progress notes that highlight achievements, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Support preparation of periodic reports (monthly and quarterly), ensuring clarity, accuracy, and alignment with SCI reporting standards.
• Conduct field monitoring visits to CFUGs and partner sites, documenting findings, providing technical guidance, and identifying corrective actions where needed.
• Provide support in developing SBCC materials and communication tools to promote awareness, encourage behavioral change, and support households in overcoming adoption barriers.
• Provide technical inputs to SCI technical teams and contribute to the preparation of the Project Design Document (PDD) for climate financing, integrating evidence from sensor data, KOBO monitoring, and household adoption studies.

Links:

TOR_ICS expert consultant

Consultancy Proposal Form

HOW TO APPLY

Proposal Submission Guideline/Required Documents 

• Proposal Submission Deadline- 27 August 2026
• Required Documents-
  • Filled out Consultancy Proposal Form (enclosed with this ToR)
  • CV(s) of the proposed consultant(s) with full date of birth in dd/mm/yyyy format. 
  • For firms: Copies of- Firm registration certificate, VAT registration certificate, Latest tax clearance certificate. For firms that are tax exempted by the government, a copy of tax exemption certificate should be submitted.
  • For Individuals (Nepali): Copies of citizenship certificate and PAN/VAT registration certificate. 
  • Proposals must be submitted exclusively via email to: - nepal.quotations@savethechildren.org

If an individual is a full-time staff member of another organization, a no objection/consent letter signed by the organization head must be submitted along with the proposal. This is not applicable for proposals sent through a firm.