Terms of Reference (ToR) for the consultancy service

Terms of Reference (ToR) for the consultancy service to

Develop Gender Based Violence (GBV) policies for the Rajpur and Chandrapur Municipalites of Rautahat District, Madhesh Province

1. Overview

Rural Development Centre (RDC) Nepal is a non-governmental, non-political, and non-profit making organization established in May 2002 with its headquarters in Rautahat District of Nepal. Since then, RDC has been heavily engaged in humanitarian assistance, community development, conservation of natural resources, and environmental protection mainly in the Terai region of Nepal through the dozens of humanitarian and long-term development projects reaching out to the children, adolescent boys, and girls, youth, women, land poor, urban poor, and people living with disabilities, HIV & AIDS, conflict and disaster survivors from most poor, historically marginalized communities such as Dalits and Muslims, Indigenous communities and other underprivileged groups.

2. Background

Rural Development Centre ( RDC) Nepal Rautahat is implementing a gender and protection-related project in the Rautahat district with the support of Islamic Relief Nepal, emphasizing interventions in protection and livelihoods. This project, "Accelerating Actions to Reduce Gender-Based Violence (GARVA)," was initiated in June 2023 and is implemented in the Rajpur and Chandrapur municipalities of Rautahat district. This project aims to reduce Gender Based Violence (GBV) and enhance the well-being of 34,155 women, men, girls, and boys in the project's target municipalities

The project focuses on achieving its objectives through three key outcomes:

Outcome 1 (Enhanced Livelihood Opportunities): Providing livelihood opportunities for 1,000 GBV survivors and at-risk women and girls in Rajpur and Chandrapur Municipalities.

Outcome 2 (Improved Awareness and Protection): Educating communities, families, and children on protection issues, fostering better attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors, and enhancing preventive and responsive protection mechanisms.

Outcome 3 (Strengthened Public Services): Improving the delivery of public services and GBV prevention efforts in Chandrapur and Rajpur Municipalities and across Rautahat district.

3. Rational of the consultancy

Chandrapur and Rajpur Municipalities of Rautahat District continue to face significant challenges related to gender-based violence (GBV), with limited institutional mechanisms, policies, and systems to effectively prevent and respond to such cases. While both municipalities have been implementing various social protection and development initiatives, consultations revealed that they lack a dedicated GBV policy and have minimal provisions addressing GBV and GEDSI concerns within their existing frameworks.

Under the ongoing project, efforts are being made to reduce GBV and improve the overall well-being of women, girls, men, and boys through enhanced livelihoods, increased awareness and protection mechanisms, and strengthened public services. The project team has already supported GBV service providers with essential inputs and is preparing capacity-building activities for municipal officials. However, without a formal GBV policy, local governments face challenges in ensuring consistent, coordinated, and survivor-centered responses.

To strengthen municipal systems and bridge this policy gap, this consultancy will support the development of comprehensive GBV policies for both municipalities. These policies will be informed by an assessment of local capacities, existing gaps, and national standards, ultimately providing a clear framework for effective GBV prevention, response, and long-term institutionalization of safe and inclusive services.

4. Objective of the Assignment

The primary objective of this consultancy is to develop comprehensive and context-specific municipal-level GBV policies for Chandrapur and Rajpur Municipalities. The specific objectives are to:

• Identify and analyse existing national and local laws, policies, and regulations that contribute to addressing harmful social norms and GBV.
• Identify legal provisions or practices that may unintentionally reinforce harmful social norms and gender inequalities.
• Critically examine gaps, inconsistencies, and limitations within the current legal and policy framework related to GBV prevention and response.
• Assess the challenges faced in implementing GBV-related laws and procedures at the municipal level.
• Recommend actionable legal and policy measures to address harmful social norms and strengthen municipal mechanisms for GBV prevention and response.
• Strengthen coordination, accountability, and sustainability of GBV interventions through a structured and comprehensive municipal GBV policy.

5. Scope of Work

The consultant/firm will be responsible for the following :

5.1 Assessment and Analysis

• Review existing municipal policies, strategies, guidelines, annual plans, and other documents related to GBV.
• Identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities in GBV prevention and response

5.2 Policy Development

• Develop comprehensive municipal GBV policies and strategic frameworks
• Ensure policies include prevention, response, referral mechanisms, and capacity-building provisions for service providers.

5.3 Stakeholder Consultation

• Engage municipal authorities, service providers, community representatives, and GBV survivors
• Facilitate workshops and validation meetings to ensure local ownership of the policy

5.4 Final Deliverables

• Draft GBV policy documents for review and validation
• Finalized municipal GBV policies and strategies (both soft and hard copies) in Nepali language incorporating inputs.
• Deliver a brief orientation session to municipal representative on final policy.

5.5 Recommendations

• Provide actionable recommendations for policy implementation, monitoring, and sustainability

6. Excpeted Deliverables

The consultant/firm shall deliver:

• An Inception report within 7 days of contract signing outlining the proposed methodology, data collection tools, stakeholder consultation plan, timeline, and detailed work plan
• GBV Analysis Report for both working municipalities: Rajpur and Chandrapur.
• Draft GBV Policy in Nepali, including vision, objectives, guiding principles, strategic priority areas, institutional roles and responsibilities, implementation arrangements, resource requirements, and monitoring and accountability framework.
• Validation Workshop Reports shall organize and facilitate a Validation Workshop with municipal leadership, ward representatives, community groups, and relevant stakeholders to review and validate the draft GBV Policy.
• Final GBV Policies (2 copies) and soft files(both Word and PDF) in Nepali

7. Ethical Considerations

• The consultant/firm must ensure the highest standards of confidentiality, non-discrimination, and respect for diversity.
• Informed consent must be obtained from all participants during consultations.
• Sensitive information must not be disclosed without authorization.
• The consultant shall follow “Do No Harm” and safeguarding principles throughout the assignment.

8 . Reporting Line

The consultant will report to GARVA, RDC Nepal’s Project Coordinator.

9. Time Frame

The estimated input of the consultant is 75 days. The assignment is expected to start in December 2025 and be finalized by no later than February 2026.

10. Required Qualifications

For Individual Consultant:

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Law, Sociology, Development Studies, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in GBV, gender equality, policy development, or local governance.
• Experience working with municipalities or NGOs on GBV programs.
• Strong facilitation and report-writing skills in Nepali and English.

For Consultancy Firm:

• At least 3 years’ registered experience conducting research, policy development, or technical support on GBV.
• Team Lead with the above qualifications.
• Proven experience working with local government structures.

11. Terms of Payment

Payment will be made in installments:

1. 20% upon submission and approval of the Inception Report
2. 40% upon submission of draft GBV Policies
3. 40% upon submission and approval of the final policies

12. Documents for submission

• CVs of experts
• Citizenship
• PAN card
• Legal document in case of form (PAN, registration certificate with renewal, latest tax clearance certificate for 2081/082, or extension certificate.
• Experience and facilitation certificates
• Technical Proposal (Detailed work plan with schedule and methodology)
• Financial Proposal

13. Submission of documents

Interested individuals who meet the above requirements should apply by submitting their application letter with the documents asked to accomplish the aforementioned tasks with the subject line “Application to Develop GBV policy” before 5 December 2025, through email at procurement@rdcnepal.org

Rural Development Centre (RDC) Nepal

Chandrapur-4 Rautahat

Contact no: +977 55 540203 and +977 9845380628

Email: procurement@rdcnepal.org