Terms of reference (ToR) - Facilitation of social audits and public hearings on WASH and nutritional rights under the CHANGE Project

Terms of reference (ToR)

Facilitation of social audits and public hearings on WASH and nutritional rights under the CHANGE Project

Project activity: Consultancy for facilitating social audits and public hearings to communities about their WASH and nutritional rights and to hold service providers accountable.

Background:

Bagmati Welfare Society Nepal (BWSN) is a women-led, youth-led feminist organization, established in 1995 in Sarlahi and registered with the District Administration Office, Sarlahi, with affiliation to the Social Welfare Council.

BWSN’s Executive Board is entirely women and entirely under the age of 30, and women hold many leadership positions across the organization.

For thirty years we have worked in the districts of Nepal where public systems arrive last in flood plains, in communities excluded by caste and gender, in wards where the nearest health facility is a day’s journey. Currently working in 201 local levels across Madhesh, Koshi, Lumbini, Karnali and Bagmati Province. BWSN is affiliated with more than 11 global thematic networks.

As part of the CHANGE project, training of trainers (ToT) on the tools will be provided to the CSOs and the consultant/individual consultant to facilitate the social audits and public hearings in the project area. These activities promote transparency and accountability in nutrition services, empowering communities to advocate for better services and achieving equitable access to nutrition. 

A consultant will be engage to facilitate the conduction of public hearing and social audit in support with the CSOs in conducting the event across 35 municipalities in madhesh province (CHANGE project working area).

Purpose of the assignment:

The purpose of this consultancy is to facilitate the public and social audit, using a standardize tools and the execution of annual social audits and public hearings across the 35 target municipalities in Madhesh Province.

Scope of work and key activities:

The consultant will undertake the following activities:

Key activities:

Preparation and Planning Phase:

• Review existing project documents, MSNP-III guidelines, and NFLG implementation frameworks. 
• Develop a comprehensive, municipality-wise schedule for social audits and public hearings across all 35 local levels in coordination with BWSN. 

Capacity building phase:

• Participate in capacity building sessions organized under the project to build advanced facilitation skills on social audits and public hearings. 

Field facilitation and execution Phase:

• Working alongside BWSN, facilitate the mobilization of community members paying special attention to women, marginalized groups, and PwDs and coordinate all timelines with local authorities and the municipality.
• Facilitate structured social audit and public hearing sessions to present findings, review service delivery performance, address community grievances, and formulate recommendations. 
• Document commitments, action plans, and agreements made during the public hearings. 

Documentation and Reporting:

• Maintain complete participant attendance and feedback sheets. 
• Prepare comprehensive social audit and Public hearing event completion reports for each municipality using standardized tools. 

Timeline: 

Total duration: Within the 20 working days after contractual agreement between both parties.

Reporting and supervision:

• The consultant will report directly to the designated Program team BWSN and other consortium partners.

Qualifications and requirements:

• Education: Bachelor/master’s degree in social science, public administration, public health, human rights, journalism, mass media communication, law or a related field.
• Experience: Relevant individual/consultant professional background and proven field expertise will be used as key prioritization criteria for evaluating candidates.
• Skills & knowledge: Strong understanding of local governance structures in Nepal, MSNP-III frameworks, NFLG guidelines, and human rights-based approaches will be priories.  
• Facilitation & communication: Excellent moderation and participatory workshop design skills; fluent in written and spoken English, and Nepali. Local language proficiency (Maithili/Bhojpuri) is an added advantage.