diff --git a/changelog.d/15891.feature b/changelog.d/15891.feature
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5a3d12a32e2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/15891.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Implements a task scheduler.
diff --git a/synapse/app/generic_worker.py b/synapse/app/generic_worker.py
index dc79efcc142f..d25e3548e075 100644
--- a/synapse/app/generic_worker.py
+++ b/synapse/app/generic_worker.py
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.stats import StatsStore
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.stream import StreamWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.tags import TagsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.databases.main.task_scheduler import TaskSchedulerWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.transactions import TransactionWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.ui_auth import UIAuthWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.user_directory import UserDirectoryStore
@@ -144,6 +145,7 @@ class GenericWorkerStore(
     TransactionWorkerStore,
     LockStore,
     SessionStore,
+    TaskSchedulerWorkerStore,
 ):
     # Properties that multiple storage classes define. Tell mypy what the
     # expected type is.
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/task_scheduler.py b/synapse/handlers/task_scheduler.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d15da6eaec40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/handlers/task_scheduler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+import logging
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Awaitable, Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple
+
+from twisted.python.failure import Failure
+
+from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
+from synapse.types import JsonMapping, ScheduledTask, TaskState
+from synapse.util.stringutils import random_string
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from synapse.server import HomeServer
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class TaskSchedulerHandler:
+    SCHEDULING_INTERVAL_MS = 10 * 60 * 1000  # 10mn
+
+    def __init__(self, hs: "HomeServer"):
+        self.store = hs.get_datastores().main
+        self.clock = hs.get_clock()
+        self._is_master = hs.config.worker.worker_app is None
+        self.running_tasks: Set[str] = set()
+        self.actions: Dict[
+            str,
+            Callable[
+                [ScheduledTask], Awaitable[Tuple[TaskState, Optional[JsonMapping]]]
+            ],
+        ] = {}
+
+        if self._is_master:
+            self.clock.looping_call(
+                run_as_background_process,
+                TaskSchedulerHandler.SCHEDULING_INTERVAL_MS,
+                "scheduled_tasks_loop",
+                self._scheduled_tasks_loop,
+            )
+
+    def bind_action(
+        self,
+        fct: Callable[
+            [ScheduledTask], Awaitable[Tuple[TaskState, Optional[JsonMapping]]]
+        ],
+        action_name: str,
+    ) -> None:
+        self.actions[action_name] = fct
+
+    async def schedule_task(
+        self,
+        action: str,
+        *,
+        resource_id: Optional[str] = None,
+        timestamp: Optional[int] = None,
+        params: Optional[JsonMapping] = None,
+    ) -> str:
+        if action not in self.actions:
+            # TODO
+            raise SynapseError(400, "Test")
+        task_id = random_string(16)
+        state = TaskState.SCHEDULED
+        if timestamp is None or timestamp < self.clock.time_msec():
+            state = TaskState.RUNNING
+            timestamp = self.clock.time_msec()
+
+        task = ScheduledTask(
+            task_id,
+            action,
+            state,
+            resource_id,
+            timestamp,
+            params,
+            None,
+        )
+        await self.store.upsert_scheduled_task(task)
+        return task_id
+
+    async def update_task(
+        self,
+        id: str,
+        state: Optional[TaskState] = None,
+        result: Optional[JsonMapping] = None,
+        # error: Optional[str],
+    ) -> None:
+        await self.store.update_scheduled_task(id, state, result)
+
+    async def get_task(self, id: str) -> Optional[ScheduledTask]:
+        return await self.store.get_scheduled_task(id)
+
+    async def get_tasks(
+        self, action: str, resource_id: Optional[str]
+    ) -> List[ScheduledTask]:
+        return await self.store.get_scheduled_tasks(action, resource_id)
+
+    async def _scheduled_tasks_loop(self) -> None:
+        for task in await self.store.get_scheduled_tasks():
+            if task.id not in self.running_tasks:
+                if (
+                    task.state == TaskState.SCHEDULED
+                    and task.timestamp is not None
+                    and task.timestamp < self.clock.time_msec()
+                ):
+                    await self._run_task(task)
+
+    async def _run_task(self, task: ScheduledTask) -> None:
+        if task.action in self.actions:
+            fct = self.actions[task.action]
+
+            async def wrapper() -> None:
+                try:
+                    (state, result) = await fct(task)
+                except Exception as e:
+                    f = Failure()
+                    logger.error(
+                        f"scheduled task {task.id} failed",
+                        exc_info=(f.type, f.value, f.getTracebackObject()),
+                    )
+                    state = TaskState.FAILED
+                    result = {"error": f.getErrorMessage()}
+
+                await self.update_task(task.id, state, result)
+                self.running_tasks.remove(task.id)
+
+            await self.update_task(task.id, TaskState.RUNNING)
+            self.running_tasks.add(task.id)
+            run_as_background_process(task.action, wrapper)
diff --git a/synapse/server.py b/synapse/server.py
index b72b76a38b35..c0e1277f6ae4 100644
--- a/synapse/server.py
+++ b/synapse/server.py
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@
 from synapse.handlers.sso import SsoHandler
 from synapse.handlers.stats import StatsHandler
 from synapse.handlers.sync import SyncHandler
+from synapse.handlers.task_scheduler import TaskSchedulerHandler
 from synapse.handlers.typing import FollowerTypingHandler, TypingWriterHandler
 from synapse.handlers.user_directory import UserDirectoryHandler
 from synapse.http.client import (
@@ -242,6 +243,7 @@ class HomeServer(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
         "profile",
         "room_forgetter",
         "stats",
+        "task_scheduler",
     ]
 
     # This is overridden in derived application classes
@@ -912,3 +914,7 @@ def get_request_ratelimiter(self) -> RequestRatelimiter:
     def get_common_usage_metrics_manager(self) -> CommonUsageMetricsManager:
         """Usage metrics shared between phone home stats and the prometheus exporter."""
         return CommonUsageMetricsManager(self)
+
+    @cache_in_self
+    def get_task_scheduler_handler(self) -> TaskSchedulerHandler:
+        return TaskSchedulerHandler(self)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/databases/main/__init__.py b/synapse/storage/databases/main/__init__.py
index b6028853c939..cb8fb665e478 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/databases/main/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/databases/main/__init__.py
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@
 from .stats import StatsStore
 from .stream import StreamWorkerStore
 from .tags import TagsStore
+from .task_scheduler import TaskSchedulerWorkerStore
 from .transactions import TransactionWorkerStore
 from .ui_auth import UIAuthStore
 from .user_directory import UserDirectoryStore
@@ -127,6 +128,7 @@ class DataStore(
     CacheInvalidationWorkerStore,
     LockStore,
     SessionStore,
+    TaskSchedulerWorkerStore,
 ):
     def __init__(
         self,
diff --git a/synapse/storage/databases/main/task_scheduler.py b/synapse/storage/databases/main/task_scheduler.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ce995596c9b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/databases/main/task_scheduler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+import json
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Optional
+
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import DatabasePool, LoggingDatabaseConnection
+from synapse.types import JsonDict, JsonMapping, ScheduledTask, TaskState
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from synapse.server import HomeServer
+
+
+class TaskSchedulerWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        database: DatabasePool,
+        db_conn: LoggingDatabaseConnection,
+        hs: "HomeServer",
+    ):
+        super().__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _convert_row_to_task(row: Dict[str, Any]) -> ScheduledTask:
+        row["state"] = TaskState(row["state"])
+        if row["params"] is not None:
+            row["params"] = json.loads(row["params"])
+        if row["result"] is not None:
+            row["result"] = json.loads(row["result"])
+        return ScheduledTask(**row)
+
+    async def get_scheduled_tasks(
+        self, action: Optional[str] = None, resource_id: Optional[str] = None
+    ) -> List[ScheduledTask]:
+        keyvalues = {}
+        if action:
+            keyvalues["action"] = action
+        if resource_id:
+            keyvalues["resource_id"] = resource_id
+
+        rows = await self.db_pool.simple_select_list(
+            table="scheduled_tasks",
+            keyvalues=keyvalues,
+            retcols=(
+                "id",
+                "action",
+                "state",
+                "timestamp",
+                "resource_id",
+                "params",
+                "result",
+                # "error",
+            ),
+            desc="get_scheduled_tasks",
+        )
+
+        return [TaskSchedulerWorkerStore._convert_row_to_task(row) for row in rows]
+
+    async def upsert_scheduled_task(self, task: ScheduledTask) -> None:
+        await self.db_pool.simple_upsert(
+            "scheduled_tasks",
+            {"id": task.id},
+            {
+                "action": task.action,
+                "state": task.state,
+                "resource_id": task.resource_id,
+                "timestamp": task.timestamp,
+                "params": None if task.params is None else json.dumps(task.params),
+                "result": None if task.result is None else json.dumps(task.result),
+                # "error": task.error,
+            },
+            desc="upsert_scheduled_task",
+        )
+
+    async def update_scheduled_task(
+        self,
+        id: str,
+        state: Optional[TaskState] = None,
+        result: Optional[JsonMapping] = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        updatevalues: JsonDict = {}
+        if state:
+            updatevalues["state"] = state
+        if result:
+            updatevalues["result"] = json.dumps(result)
+        await self.db_pool.simple_update(
+            "scheduled_tasks",
+            {"id": id},
+            updatevalues,
+            desc="update_scheduled_task",
+        )
+
+    async def get_scheduled_task(self, id: str) -> Optional[ScheduledTask]:
+        row = await self.db_pool.simple_select_one(
+            table="scheduled_tasks",
+            keyvalues={"id": id},
+            retcols=(
+                "id",
+                "action",
+                "state",
+                "resource_id",
+                "timestamp",
+                "params",
+                "result",
+                # "error",
+            ),
+            desc="get_scheduled_task",
+        )
+
+        return TaskSchedulerWorkerStore._convert_row_to_task(row) if row else None
+
+    async def delete_scheduled_task(self, id: str) -> bool:
+        return (
+            await self.db_pool.simple_delete(
+                "scheduled_tasks",
+                keyvalues={"id": id},
+                desc="delete_scheduled_task",
+            )
+            > 0
+        )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/schema/main/delta/79/03_scheduled_tasks.sql b/synapse/storage/schema/main/delta/79/03_scheduled_tasks.sql
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..92760e7c986f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/schema/main/delta/79/03_scheduled_tasks.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/* Copyright 2023 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+-- cf ScheduledTask docstring for the meaning of the fields.
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS scheduled_tasks(
+    id text PRIMARY KEY,
+    action text NOT NULL,
+    state text NOT NULL,
+    resource_id text,
+    timestamp bigint,
+    params text,
+    result text
+    -- error text
+);
diff --git a/synapse/types/__init__.py b/synapse/types/__init__.py
index 095be070e0c5..561870f323c0 100644
--- a/synapse/types/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/types/__init__.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 import abc
 import re
 import string
+from enum import Enum
 from typing import (
     TYPE_CHECKING,
     AbstractSet,
@@ -979,3 +980,23 @@ class UserProfile(TypedDict):
 class RetentionPolicy:
     min_lifetime: Optional[int] = None
     max_lifetime: Optional[int] = None
+
+
+class TaskState(str, Enum):
+    SCHEDULED = "scheduled"
+    RUNNING = "running"
+    COMPLETE = "complete"
+    FAILED = "failed"
+    ABORTED = "aborted"
+
+
+@attr.s(auto_attribs=True, frozen=True, slots=True)
+class ScheduledTask:
+    id: str
+    action: str
+    state: TaskState
+    resource_id: Optional[str]
+    timestamp: Optional[int]
+    params: Optional[JsonMapping]
+    result: Optional[JsonDict]
+    # error: Optional[str]
diff --git a/tests/handlers/test_task_scheduler.py b/tests/handlers/test_task_scheduler.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c693ee874018
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/handlers/test_task_scheduler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+from typing import Optional, Tuple
+
+
+from twisted.test.proto_helpers import MemoryReactor
+
+from synapse.handlers.task_scheduler import TaskSchedulerHandler
+from synapse.server import HomeServer
+from synapse.types import JsonMapping, ScheduledTask, TaskState
+from synapse.util import Clock
+
+from tests import unittest
+
+
+class TestTaskScheduler(unittest.HomeserverTestCase):
+    def prepare(self, reactor: MemoryReactor, clock: Clock, hs: HomeServer) -> None:
+        self.handler = hs.get_task_scheduler_handler()
+
+    async def _test_task(
+        self, task: ScheduledTask
+    ) -> Tuple[TaskState, Optional[JsonMapping]]:
+        result = None
+        if task.params:
+            result = task.params
+        return (TaskState.COMPLETE, result)
+
+    def test_schedule_task(self) -> None:
+        timestamp = self.clock.time_msec() + 5 * 60 * 1000
+        self.handler.bind_action(self._test_task, "test_action")
+        task_id = self.get_success(
+            self.handler.schedule_task(
+                "test_action",
+                timestamp=timestamp,
+                params={"val": 1},
+            )
+        )
+
+        running_task = self.get_success(self.handler.get_task(task_id))
+        assert running_task is not None
+        self.assertEqual(running_task.state, TaskState.SCHEDULED)
+        self.assertIsNone(running_task.result)
+
+        self.reactor.advance(TaskSchedulerHandler.SCHEDULING_INTERVAL_MS / 1000)
+
+        running_task = self.get_success(self.handler.get_task(task_id))
+        assert running_task is not None
+        self.assertEqual(running_task.state, TaskState.COMPLETE)
+        assert running_task.result is not None
+        self.assertTrue(running_task.result.get("val") == 1)
+
+    async def _failing_task(
+        self, task: ScheduledTask
+    ) -> Tuple[TaskState, Optional[JsonMapping]]:
+        raise Exception("failing")
+
+    def test_failed_schedule_task(self) -> None:
+        timestamp = self.clock.time_msec() + 5 * 60 * 1000
+        self.handler.bind_action(self._failing_task, "test_failed")
+        task_id = self.get_success(
+            self.handler.schedule_task(
+                "test_failed",
+                timestamp=timestamp,
+            )
+        )
+
+        self.reactor.advance(TaskSchedulerHandler.SCHEDULING_INTERVAL_MS / 1000)
+
+        running_task = self.get_success(self.handler.get_task(task_id))
+        assert running_task is not None
+        self.assertEqual(running_task.state, TaskState.FAILED)
+        assert running_task.result is not None
+        self.assertEqual(running_task.result.get("error"), "failing")