TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR LEGAL OBLIGATION MAPPING IN NEPAL

TERMS OF REFERENCE 

FOR 

LEGAL OBLIGATION MAPPING IN NEPAL 

COUNTRY: - Tdh Foundation, Nepal Country Office

PRESENTATION OF TERRE DES HOMMES

Terre des hommes (Tdh) is the leading Swiss organization for children’s aid. Through the health, migration, Access to Justice, WASH, protection, and emergency relief programmes, Tdh provides assistance to over four million children and their families in around 35 countries each year.  

Tdh is an impartial and independent non-governmental organization that supports vulnerable children and their families, regardless of their ethnic background, religion, or political affiliation. Tdh is working in Nepal since 1985 and currently working in 20 districts in MCH, WASH, Governance, Risky Migration, anti-trafficking, etc. Violence against children, unsafe migration and trafficking, poor maternal and child health outcomes and natural disasters are challenges faced by children and youth and are the core thematic areas Tdh focuses on.

ABOUT THE ASSIGNMENT

• Children are particularly vulnerable and therefore deserve special attention and protection. Tdh is committed to bringing about lasting improvements to the living conditions of the most vulnerable children while ensuring that they, their families, and their communities are protected. As a humanitarian organization, we have a moral duty to run our activities with the utmost respect for the people with whom we work. For this reason, we require all staff, partners, and volunteers to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour at all times and in all places, based on the core humanitarian standards  and our organization’s values. We constantly strive to improve our practices to ensure that they meet the most stringent international standards. 
• As an international NGO working in Nepal, Tdh aims to comply with all legal standards as per the country's Law to ensure the protection and wellbeing of all children  and adult beneficiaries, community members , and staff 
• Tdh’s Legal Obligation Mapping should be conducted in three categories- children, adults and communities, employees as emphasized in Tdh’s policies on Child Safeguarding, Policy on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and Directive on Staff Misconduct at the Workplace based on national legal standards and compliances within Nepal.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF WORK

The key objective of the assignment is to provide the senior management team with the legal and regulatory advisory necessary for safeguarding children and adult beneficiaries, communities, and staff.

The consultant/agency will be responsible for – 

1Core Humanitarian Standards: specifically, standards 3, 4, 5 and 8

2Child Safeguarding Policy, Validated by Bureau of Foundation Board in 2015

3Policy on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Validated by Board of Trustees in June 2018

4Directive on Staff Misconduct At the Workplace, approved by the Management Committee in February 2019

• Desk Review of International Laws and standards, International Treaties or Protocols signed by Government of Nepal, National Laws and Regulatory Guidelines, Legal Cases and verdicts
  
• Desk review of Tdh Foundation’s Policies and Guidelines related to compliance
• Preparing an analysis on Provisions in the Constitution of Nepal and Domestic Legislation/Policy Measures especially related to children, women, staff in Consonance with International Standards
• A legal framework assessment at the country level
  • What are the National Acts mandated at the country level if any abuse happens to Children, adults, Community, and Staff? 
  • What is the reporting mechanism at the district, local, province and federal levels?
  • Compliance requirements as per national labor standards and employee safeguarding
  • Preparing a detailed list of recommendations as per National legal obligation and compliance.

CONSULTANCY DETAILS

The Agency /Consultant will have to submit a technical and financial proposal, work plan, and budget.

I. Deliverables 

• Inception Report: includes methodology and initial work 
• Draft report: with feedback and comments from Tdh
• Presentation on the main findings 

Final Study report: including the preparation part, with clear consolidation of findings and recommendations. 

II. Consultancy Period: The consultancy will be for 60 days.

PROFILE OF PROPOSED CONSULTANT / AGENCY

The agency must have at least 3 key team members having 5 or more years of experience in Legal Due Diligence.

The agency (the “Consultancy Team”) shall consist of legal experts having the experience and qualifications in Human Rights Law, Labour Law, Child, and Women related Laws.

The agency must have at least 1 team leader who shall be the leader of the group of key team members for Tdh Nepal Assignment, s/he should have 10 or more years of experience in Legal Due Diligence.

The agency should have handled a similar assignment of conducting Legal Due Diligence and Obligation Mapping.

1. Excellent and demonstrated understanding of Child Protection and ethical issues 
2. Ability to write high-quality, clear, concise reports in English.

SAFEGUARDING AND ETHICAL GUIDELINES

The study will be guided by the following ethical principles and considerations: 

Tdh requires a ‘do no harm to children' and ‘no harm to communities’ as a central theme. This is to be interwoven into all aspects of the work to be carried out under this ToR.

A responsible authority from the agency must sign the Terre des hommes Child Safeguarding Policy and Global Code of Conduct and be willing to adhere to its principles and expected practices. If a breach of the policy or code of conduct takes place the consultancy will be terminated immediately without any financial burden on Tdh. 

COPYRIGHT                                                                                                                                  

All documents, data and information shall be treated as confidential and shall not without the written approval of Tdh be made available to any third party. In addition, the agency formally undertakes not to disclose any parts of the confidential information and shall not, without the written approval of Tdh be made available to any third party. The utilization of the report is solely at the decision and discretion of Tdh. All the documents containing both raw data/materials provided by Tdh and the final report, both soft and hard copies are to be returned to Tdh upon completion of the assignment. All documentation and reports written as, and as a result of the Legal Obligation Mapping or otherwise related to it, shall remain the property of Tdh. No part of the report shall be reproduced except with the prior, expressed, and specific written permission of Tdh.

BUDGET                                                                                                                                

• The total budget available for the entire study (including tax, consultant fees) is NPR 250,000 only
• Deductions on tax will be made as per law of the country. 
• The Payment would be released in 2 Phases: 50% would be paid during signing of the Contract Agreement, and the remaining 50% would be paid on submission of final report. 

APPLICATION PROCESS 

The Agency/Consultant(s) should submit the following documents to npl.contact@tdh.ch Interested individuals and companies are invited to submit the following application documents:  Expression of interest outlining how the consultant(s) meets the selection criteria and their understanding of the ToR and methodology.  

1. A proposed activities schedule/work plan with time frame
2. Copy of profile of the agency, including the CVs of the key team members who will lead the study
3. Two recent example of similar study report written by the applicant agency
4. Financial proposal detailing itemized fees, data collection, and administrative costs
5. Contacts of 3 references/agencies where recent assignments have been undertaken 
6. Recruitment procedure follows the Child Safeguarding Policy, including reference checks

Annex 1: Report Format (The report should be a maximum of 12 pages; including annexes described below)

1. Title page 
2. Contents page 
3. List of abbreviations and acronyms 
4. Executive Summary 
5. Background
6. Analysis 
7. Recommendations

N:B – Please mention “Legal Obligation Mapping” in your email subject line and send it to our email id npl.contact@tdh.ch  by 22 May 2022.

Only short-listed agencies/ individuals shall be contacted for further discussion.