Scope of Work is just a complicated way of saying “job description,” if it refers to an individual. If it refers to an organization, it means the whole task an organization has promised to do. I am pretty sure “Terms of Reference” is another synonym.
I’ve understood TOR to be about lines of accountability – who you report to, to whom you owe what, organizationally speaking, and so on. Often one part of an SOW, depending on the contract format of the NGO one is working for. But you’re right: Most people write TORs as if they’re JDs.