Terms of Reference
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Position
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:State Lead- Gender Transformation / Women Empowerment Facilitator For
Community-Based Gender Transformation Project
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Location
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:Kabirdham
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Organisation
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:Chhattisgarh Agricon Samiti
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Salary (CTC)
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: 50,000.00 per month (Including TA and PF will be deducted as per law)
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Background
Chhattisgarh Agricon Samiti is initiating a structured gender transformation process in rural communities. The approach is based on the idea that gender change is a gradual journey. It begins with questioning everyday norms, moves towards dialogue and shared responsibility, and finally aims to build community ownership.
The project will work with women, youth, adolescents, men, SHGs, PRI members, community volunteers and local institutions. The focus will not be limited to livelihood or SHG participation alone. It will address wider gender issues such as education, health, bodily autonomy, violence, silence, decision-making, unpaid care work, livelihood rights, access to resources, and women’s leadership.
The facilitator will play a key role in activating cluster-level gender groups, conducting sessions, supporting community actions, identifying local gender issues, coordinating with institutions, documenting change, and building local gender facilitators from within the community.
Purpose of the Role
The Gender Transformation / Women Empowerment Facilitator will be responsible for supporting the planning, facilitation, implementation, monitoring and documentation of gender transformation activities at community level.
The main purpose of this role is to help communities move from basic awareness to deeper reflection and small visible behaviour change.
The person will work as a community mobiliser, discussion facilitator, listener, documenter and change enabler.
Key Role Summary
The facilitator will:
- Mobilise registered women and youth groups at cluster level.
- Conduct gender transformation sessions using approved modules.
- Build motivation and commitment among community members.
- Identify and nurture local gender facilitators .
- Support discussions on gender norms, education, health, violence, laws, livelihood and leadership.
- Initiate small community actions around gender equality.
- Coordinate with PRI, SHG, NRLM, WCD and other local platforms.
- Plan and support internship / volunteer engagement, if required.
- Maintain regular records, reports, case stories and field documentation.
Key Responsibilities
A. Community Mobilisation and Group Activation
The facilitator will:
- Complete registration of women and youth members as per project plan.
- Organise cluster-level meetings with registered groups.
- Build regular contact with women, youth, adolescents and local volunteers.
- Create a safe and respectful environment for discussion.
- Ensure participation of both women and men wherever relevant.
- Identify active participants who can become local gender facilitators.
- Maintain updated group-wise participant lists.
B. Facilitation of Gender Transformation Sessions
The facilitator will conduct structured sessions based on the project’s gender transformation module.
The sessions may include:
- Introduction session: why gender transformation matters.
- Understanding gender, norms and patriarchy.
- Inequality in everyday life and power.
- Education and choice.
- Health, menstruation, consent and bodily autonomy.
- Violence, silence and laws.
- Making gender visible.
- Gender and livelihood.
The facilitator must ensure that sessions are not lecture-based. Sessions should be discussion-based, simple, participatory, creative, emotionally engaging and rooted in rural realities.
C. Building Local Gender Facilitators / Badlav Saathi
The facilitator will not only conduct sessions but also develop local people who can carry the conversation forward.
The facilitator will:
- Identify committed participants from each cluster.
- Orient them on gender basics, listening skills and group facilitation.
- Encourage them to speak in meetings and support activities.
- Help them conduct small conversations in their own village.
- Track their participation and growth.
D. Community Action and Behaviour Change Initiatives
The facilitator will support each cluster to identify one practical gender-related community action.
Examples may include:
- Supporting girls’ school continuation.
- Encouraging men and boys to share household responsibilities.
- Supporting discussions on delaying early marriage.
- Creating a “First Woman To…” display.
- Organising a girls’ voice circle.
- Supporting safe and respectful youth discussions.
- Raising gender issues in PRI / SHG platforms.
- Promoting women’s participation in livelihood decisions.
E. Work on Education, Health, Violence and Livelihood Themes
The facilitator will support thematic discussions and follow-up on key gender issues.
Education and Choice
The facilitator will:
- Identify girls and boys at risk of dropping out.
- Facilitate discussions on equality and equity in education.
- Support family-level dialogue wherever possible.
- Link education issues with community platforms.
Health, Menstruation and Bodily Autonomy
The facilitator will:
- Conduct respectful discussions on adolescent health and menstruation.
- Support boys’ and youth conversations on empathy and respect.
- Promote dignity, health-seeking and safe discussion.
Violence, Silence and Laws
The facilitator will:
- Facilitate discussions on different forms of violence.
- Help groups understand healthy and unhealthy relationships.
- Share basic information on rights and legal protections.
- Ensure sensitive issues are referred to supervisors and not handled independently.
Gender and Livelihood
The facilitator will:
- Help communities understand access and control over resources.
- Discuss women’s role in livelihood, unpaid care and income decisions.
- Support conversations on women’s ownership, asset creation, nutrition security and economic justice.
F. Convergence and Coordination
The facilitator will coordinate with local institutions to build support for gender transformation.
Key platforms may include:
- Gram Panchayat, SHGs, NRLM
- WCD, Schools, Anganwadi centres, Health workers, Youth groups, Community volunteers The facilitator will:
- Attend meetings where gender agenda can be introduced.
- Share field-level gender concerns with relevant platforms.
- Support joint meetings with SHG and PRI.
- Encourage inclusion of gender issues in village discussions.
- Maintain relationship with local stakeholders.
G. Internship / Volunteer Engagement Support
If the project hosts interns or volunteers, the facilitator will support their field engagement.
The facilitator will:
- Support planning of internship activities.
- Orient interns/volunteers on field context.
- Support their field exposure and documentation.
- Help them connect with community groups.
- Ensure ethical behaviour and confidentiality.
- Collect feedback from interns and communities.
H. Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation
The facilitator will maintain regular records and submit reports on time.
The facilitator will document:
- session attendance, participant category, key discussion points, issues raised
- community actions, volunteer involvement, photos with context, case stories, monthly progress.
I. Safeguarding and Ethical Responsibility
The facilitator may hear sensitive issues related to violence, child marriage, abuse or family conflict.
The facilitator must handle such information carefully.
The facilitator must:
- Never force anyone to share personal experience.
- Never discuss sensitive cases publicly.
- Maintain confidentiality.
- Immediately inform the supervisor if a serious issue emerges.
- Not promise legal, financial or personal help without approval.
- Not intervene alone in violence or child marriage cases.
- Follow organisational safeguarding and referral guidance.
Qualifications and Experience Required
The facilitator should have:
- Graduate degree in Social Work, Sociology, Rural Development, Women’s Studies, Development Studies, Education, Public Health, Psychology or a related field.
- Minimum 1–2 years of field experience in community mobilisation, women’s empowerment, gender, SHG, youth engagement, child rights, rural development or similar work.
- Good understanding of rural communities, SHGs, PRI, NRLM, WCD, youth groups and village-level systems.
- Ability to communicate clearly in Hindi and preferably in the local dialect.
- Experience in conducting community meetings, group discussions, trainings or awareness sessions.
- Basic understanding of gender, women’s rights, child marriage, GBV, adolescent issues and social norms.
- Ability to maintain attendance, reports, case stories, photos with consent and monthly progress updates.
- Willingness to travel regularly to villages and work closely with women, youth and community stakeholders.
Expected Behaviour from the Facilitator
The facilitator is expected to:
- Be regular in field visits.
- Be respectful and non-judgmental.
- Listen more and speak carefully.
- Avoid blaming men, women, families or communities.
- Focus on changing behaviour and systems.
- Maintain confidentiality.
- Be punctual in reporting.
- Take initiative rather than waiting for instructions.
- Be open to feedback and improvement.
Note: We at CAS have a zero-tolerance policy on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), POSH and promote safeguarding and protection of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.